MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – A major winter storm will dump heavy snow and cause widespread travel headaches across south central Wisconsin Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning. Tuesday and Wednesday are First Alert Weather Days.
The entire area will be under a Winter Storm Warning or Winter Weather Advisory Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning. Dane and Rock Co. are included in the Winter Storm Warning.
The heaviest snow and most difficult travel conditions will likely develop within the Winter Storm Warning. Every one should plan for accumulating snow and treacherous travel conditions Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning.
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SNOW TIME LINE
Widespread snow will develop from southwest to northeast across the area Tuesday afternoon through early Tuesday evening. With temperatures expected to be in the 20s, it’s not going to take long for the roads to become slick and snow covered. Traveling could be very difficult for evening commute. By 6 p.m., widespread moderate to heavy snow could be coming down across the area. The roads could be slick and snow covered and the falling snow could reduce driver’s visibility.
The heaviest snow will likely come down late Tuesday afternoon through around Midnight on Wednesday. Even though snow is still expected overnight, the heaviest snow will be pushing east of the area after midnight.
Scattered light snow showers could linger into Wednesday morning. However, the widespread snow will likely be long gone by the time you wakeup Wednesday morning. Our snow chances will be over by Wednesday afternoon. Slick and snow covered roads will likely impact the Wednesday morning commute. Temperatures could warm above freezing late Wednesday morning, which should help improve road conditions.
SNOWFALL TOTALS
This winter storm will dump heavy snow across south central Wisconsin Tuesday afternoon through Tuesday night. Widespread snowfall totals will likely range from 4-8″. The heaviest snow will likely develop from Madison and points south towards the WI-IL border. This is where some places could see up to 6-10″ of snow. As you go north of Madison, snowfall totals probably won’t be as high. Snowfall totals for places north of Madison towards central Wisconsin will likely see between 3-6″ of snow.
The falling snow will be gone by Wednesday afternoon. The rest of Wednesday will be mostly cloudy, cold and breezy. Temperatures will start to drop Wednesday afternoon. High temperatures on Wednesday will likely be recorded in the morning. With a west wind around 15 mph, wind chills will likely be in the teens all day.
Wednesday night will be cold. Overnight lows Wednesday night into Thursday morning will be near 10 degrees.
Thursday will be a mostly sunny and cold day. High temperatures will be in the lower to mid 20s.
Another strong storm system looks like it could impact the area on New Year’s Day. Another round of wintry precipitation will be possible Thursday night through Friday night. There are still a lot of question marks with this part of the forecast, though. Right now, plan for another round of accumulating snow and travel impacts. Friday is another First Alert Weather Day.
It looks like the weather pattern will quiet down for the first weekend of 2021. Highs on Saturday and Sunday will be in the upper 20s.
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