Winter Weather — Jefferson, Wisconsin

2011-12-29 · Jefferson, Wisconsin

Wider weather episode

A band of light precipitation...a mix of light rain and snow...driven by warm air advection and mid-level frontogenesis ahead of a short wave trough...moved across southern Wisconsin during the early morning hours of December 29th. With surface temperatures below freezing and the loss of ice crystals for snow formation as upper levels dried out...the precipitation changed over to freezing drizzle and light freezing rain over a good portion of Southeast Wisconsin and parts of South Central Wisconsin. The freezing rain and freezing drizzle coated roads, sidewalks and outdoor structures with a thin layer of ice, affecting areas mainly along and northeast of a Wisconsin Dells, Madison to Lake Geneva line. The icy conditions led to numerous vehicle accidents, with many spin-outs and a few roll-over accidents. A man was killed (indirect-related) north of the city of Jefferson when he stopped to assist another motorist involved in an accident on the STH 26 by-pass bridge, slipped off the bridge and fell into the Rock River. A semi-trailer truck jack-knifed on westbound Interstate 94 near STH 18 in Waukesha County, blocking two of the three westbound lanes during the morning rush hour. One person was injured (indrectly-related) when their vehicle slide into a gas-station building on STH 33 in the Portage (Columbia Co.), and several vehicles were stuck on a the breidge over STH 16 on Interstate 39 near Portage until the road was salted. North of Portage on Interstate-39, a semi-trailer and two cars flipped over in the roadside ditch. Another turck flipped over on STH 151 in southeast Columbia County, dumping more that 30,000 pounds of jalapeno peppers on the road.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 357505. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.