Lake-Effect Snow — Washington, Wisconsin

2017-03-12 to 2017-03-13 · Washington, Wisconsin

Event narrative

Six to sixteen inches of snow accumulation with the lowest amounts in the far northwest portion of the county. Two large chain-reaction accidents involving dozens of vehicles occurred on I-41 from the late morning into the afternoon hours. I-41 southbound was closed from Sherman Rd. and Hillside Rd. in the Town of Polk for 6 hours. The two left lanes of northbound I-41 near Cedar Creek were also closed due to a large chain-reaction accident. 7 injuries were reported in total from both chain-reaction accidents. Overall, there were 97 crash calls involving 300 vehicles in the county. One older man collapsed and died while snow blowing his driveway.

Wider weather episode

A significant lake effect snowstorm occurred over eastern WI with snowfall totals of 1 to 2 feet. Hundreds of vehicles were involved in accidents and slide-offs including several large chain-reaction accidents on I-41 and I-43 on March 13th. No deaths occurred and only a small number of injuries were reported. Portions of the Interstates were closed for hours for cleanup and removal. There were 5 deaths in southeast WI when older men collapsed while shoveling or snow blowing. Some schools and local governments closed during the afternoon of March 13th due to the heavy snow. Several inches of snow also fell over south central WI during this time due to a low pressure area that tracked from the central Great Plains through the Ohio River Valley.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 681632. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.