Winter Storm Leads To Power Outages, Dangerous Travel Conditions

Snow, ice and winds have led to power outages and transportation issues in northern and central Wisconsin.

The winter storm had brought almost 18 inches of snowfall in the Mellen area, according to one spotter. A meteorologist with the National Weather Service said that another foot may be possible for the south shore of Lake Superior.

Madeline Island Ferry Captain Mike Radtke said they’re cutting back on trips to the mainland.

“We’re trying to take it slow so our ferry doesn’t ice up, because that’s one of the problems with actually pretty cold temps for this time of year,” said Radtke. “Then, the spray you get and the decks start to ice up, and that just adds to our workload.”

Wisconsin State Patrol Sergeant Pat Kraetke said they’ve had their hands full with at least 36 run-off-road vehicle crashes already.

“When the snow comes that fast and furious, people tend to slow down, but they still have issues driving where they’ll end up in the ditch or stuck on the side of the road because they get over too far on the shoulder and the road hasn’t been plowed,” he said.

Xcel Energy spokeswoman Liz Wolf Green said that around 2,000 customers near Menomonie lost power overnight.

“We had some build-up of ice on our power lines near Menomonie,” she said. “That ice, combined with the winds, caused the wire to gallop or to bounce. They may have come into contact with one another, which caused the outage.”

Wolf Green said that power was restored within two hours. She said she’s not aware of any outages at this time.

A winter storm warning remains in effect until 6 a.m. Wednesday morning for Ashland, Bayfield and Iron counties. Lake effect snow is expected to continue into Thursday.