Wausau blizzard stopped city plows; early reports say 28-30 inches of snow fell
The Wausonian will update this story continually (assuming internet stays on -- it's gone out once at my house already
As a blizzard rages on in Central Wisconsin, officials from the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office are now advising motorists to stay off the roads as absolutely necessary.
Sheriff’s officials say roadways are already becoming impassible at this point.
These dangerous conditions are impacting everyone on the roads, including law enforcement, fire, EMS, tow services, and snowplow operators. Even emergency responders are having difficulty getting through in certain locations.
Please stay off the roadways unless it is absolutely necessary. Every unnecessary vehicle on the road creates additional hazards and can delay plows and emergency responders trying to reach people in need.
Emergency services might also be delayed, sheriff’s office officials say.
The Wausau Police Department is advising the same, saying both agencies have already been called out for numerous crashes and stranded vehicles.
That comes as the National Weather Service’s latest report says more than a foot of snow has fallen in the Wausau area already, as of just before 9 am.
11:58 am update
The NWS-Green Bay claims on its Facebook page 13 inches had fallen by 8:30 am, but cites a later report with 17.2 inches for Wausau. Another weather reporter claimed more than 18 inches more recently. The service in its latest post as of this update is calling for lulls in the snowfall’s intensity for the afternoon, though wind gusts in the 35 mph range is possible, with the potential for sleete.
Wausau, Schofield and Weston have declared a snow emergency for the city through 6 pm Monday, meaning no parking on the roads.
The Wausau and D.C. Everest school districts announced they are calling off in-person classes Monday. Wausau says it will have a virtual learning day instead.
2:27 pm update
Marathon County issued a press release urging residents to not drive. Marathon County’s plow drivers are fully deployed, the release says, but numerous vehicles stuck in roads and intersections are making it difficult for plow drivers to do their jobs.
County officials warn that even though snowfall is lightening, many roads are still impassible.
The village of Weston canceled all of its Monday meetings, according to press releases they’ve sent out. City of Wausau meetings are also canceled, according to the online calendar.
Meanwhile, someone in Amherst has a winter storm livestream, so you can view the storm without traveling out into it.
5:40 pm update
The National Weather Service in Green Bay is predicting 6-12 inches of more snow overnight into Monday morning. That will combine with wind gusts up to 40-50 miles per hour.
Most roads Wausau and north in the state of Wisconsin are listed as impassible as of 2:30 pm Sunday. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is advising people to stay off the roads unless it’s an emergency, and in that case exercise extreme caution. That advisory is in effect until Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Channel 7 has a long list of closings for Monday, including the ones The Wausonian previously reported.
8:38 pm update
Marathon County officials announced the closure of all county facilities on Monday. Services will still eb available virtually.
Facilities closed to walk-in traffic include:
Aging & Disability Resource Center of Central Wisconsin
Circuit Court
Clerk of Courts
Conservation, Planning & Zoning
Corporation Counsel
County Administration
County Clerk
County Treasurer
District Attorney’s Office
Emergency Management
Extension Marathon County
Facilities & Capital Management
Finance Department
Health Department
Human Resources
Justice Programs
Marathon County Jail – in-person visitation
Medical Examiner’s Office
Parks Administration
Register of Deeds
Sheriff’s Office – Administration & Civil Process
Social Services
Solid Waste
Veterans Service Office
8:44 am update
The snow is expected to taper off later this morning. Meanwhile, while many Marathon County roads are no longer listed as impassable, they are listed as completely covered and caution is still advised.
Many local roads are still impassable though, police say. There are still stranded cars throughout the city. Police will be working on removing those cars today as conditions continue. They advise avoiding travel today if you can.
11:05 am update
The city’s snow emergency has been extended to 6 am Tuesday, according to the city’s Facebook page. That’s because city crews are still removing snow and are having trouble finding a place to put some of it.
According to District No. 1 alder Carol Lukens, the snow proved too much for some of the city’s snow plows which got stuck repeatedly while plowing. The city needed to switch to graders and end loaders to clear streets.
Crews worked for 16 hours straight, were stopped at around 7 pm and sent home to sleep, only to return at 3 am to continue plowing, Lukens reported.
Crews are expected to finish snow plowing by Monday evening, and sidewalk removal could take several days beyond that.
The city also reported that all bus routes have been canceled today due to the snow conditions.
Early snowfall accumulation totals are ranging from 28-30 inches, according to reports by the National Weather Service in Green Bay. Heavy drifting is making measurements difficult.
3:10 pm update
The Wausonian reached out to Tracy Durante, the city’s Community Outreach Specialist who works with the homeless population to ask how they fared in this weather.
Durante responded, saying there was space for everyone despite most staff and volunteers being dismissed because of the weather conditions:
Resources during the daytime for the homeless were satisfied yesterday by the open door having hours from 8 AM until 5 PM and the outreach task force a.k.a. the Marty bus which no operate out of the HMONG American Center were open from nine until five. WMC SHELTER was the only operational SHELTER last evening and we successfully housed anyone who presented at our doors last night. I called off majority of my staff and volunteers for everyone’s safety and was at SHELTER last night where a little over 50 on house clients were safely sheltered for the evening. WMC SHELTER will open early again today at 5 PM. Daytime resources for our unhoused include the open door and Bridget Street mission today.
The Wausonian will update this story throughout the day, so check back for updates. Update numbers will be in the story’s subhead, and updates will be added at the bottom of the story.
NOTE: Updates will also depend on my internet status. It’s already gone out once this morning.