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Major snowstorms share similarities

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Reading through the tales of The Big One from past years is like experiencing the same event, over and over again.

The Big One, of course, is the big snowstorm, the one that you remember and tell your grandchildren about. Forecasters say last night's snow, combined with another one that's supposed to start later today, will be another Big One.

To mark that event, the Gazette reviewed articles from some of the biggest snow events going back to 1936.

Here's what you can expect, if the past is any indication:

-- Stranded motorists, even when they were warned to stay home—One of the worst stranded-vehicle events came during the storm of Feb. 5-6, 2008. Interstate 90/39 between Janesville and Madison turned into a parking lot. The lesson: Be prepared with an emergency kit. You never know how long it will be till help arrives.

-- Snow day—School officials are loathe to say anything in advance, but if the storm dumps enough snow tonight and continues Wednesday morning as predicted, then travel on Wednesday morning will be treacherous, and it's a good bet there will be massive cancellations of everything, including school.

-- Sell-outs—Shovels, motor oil, spark plugs, salt—anything that might help you weather the storm—could be sold out, although the worst such problems happen at the beginning of the season, not this far into it.

-- Tired plow drivers—The same goes for utility workers if the snow downs a lot of power lines.

"Once you get into, like 24 hours straight, then you start slurring your words, and your brain doesn't work as good," a utility worker told the Gazette after the storm of Dec. 8-9, 2009.

And on Jan. 2, 1979, city and county officials pronounced their crews exhausted after three days of snow in which they worked 18-hour days, and equipment was breaking down.

-- Planes grounded—Loved ones far away might stay away for longer than expected. The storm of Jan. 1-2, 1999, stranded local Rose Bowl-goers in California. Some were reported to be enjoying the barefoot-on-the-beach weather.

-- Cold—Blasts of frigid air from north of the border often follow such storms, as is predicted for Wednesday and the rest of this week.

-- Deaths—They were actually fairly rare, as people tend to stay home. But fatalities from car accidents, exposure or the stress of snow shoveling are not unheard of. A 71-year-old Janesville man died while or after using his snowblower in the Dec. 2-3, 1990, storm.

-- Busy hospitals—"When the big snow comes, we go crazy," said a spokesman for Lakeland Medical Center in Elkhorn, on Dec. 4, 1990.

-- Heroism—Natural disasters have a way of bringing out the best in people, whether it be teenagers pushing stuck cars or the snowmobilers who on the night of Dec. 3, 1990, ferried insulin to an Orfordville man whose car got stuck in the snow while driving home from Beloit. Snowmobilers also helped in the February 2008 Interstate incident.

-- No mail/delayed mail—It's impossible to tell what might happen Wednesday, but some snows, such as the one Dec. 2-3, 1990, had postmasters calling off delivery in parts of Wisconsin.

"I don't think one day's mail is worth risking an injury or someone's life," the Fond du Lac postmaster said.

-- Humor—In the wake of the Feb. 5-6, 2008, storm, Steve Accola, manager of Harris Ace Hardware in Janesville, said he was thinking of putting up a display of suntan oil, "just to give people some hope."

All that said, things have changed since the 15-incher that dumped on the area Jan. 18, 1936.

First, forecasting has improved. The Janesville Daily Gazette had no front-page story on Friday, Jan. 17, 1936, to warn of the impending storm.

The front page did include the daily weather box, which said: "Cloudy, snow tonight and probably Saturday morning."

The next day's paper described a storm that paralyzed highway traffic, but the trains kept running. Trains were a primary mode of inter-city transportation in those days. The Gazette reported trains running late by five to 30 minutes.

Cars and buses, meanwhile, were stymied. Northbound buses from Chicago stopped at Janesville and turned back. "Scores of automobiles were stalled on highways" across the state, the article said.

Muscle power was more important then. In Janesville, all available workers were called out that weekend in 1936. Plows pushed snow to the curbs in the downtown, "where later more than 40 men shoveled it into every available truck."

Sports remained important: "Despite the storm, the largest crowd in history packed the Clinton High School gym Friday night to watch Clinton defeat Williams Bay, 27-25, capturing the undisputed lead in the Southeast Conference."

And as always, Wisconsinites knew how to make the best of things: "Eight passengers on a Greyhound bus … were snowbound most of the morning Saturday when the big machine stalled in snow drifts two and one-half miles east of Evansville, at the Oliver Chapin Farm," the paper reported. "While help was reaching them, they played cards."

Officials: Heed warnings during major snowstorm

Travel later today and into Wednesday could kill you.

That's what authorities were warning Monday as they looked at predictions of a heavy snowfall followed by wind and extreme cold.

A blizzard warning for southeastern Wisconsin includes Rock and Walworth counties.

"This could be a historic blizzard capable of paralyzing parts of southeast Wisconsin," the National Weather Service said, using unusually strong wording.

Blowing snow is expected to begin tonight, with winds at 25 to 35 mph and visibility one-quarter mile or less at times.

Snow was expected to continue Wednesday morning, with blowing snow and low visibilities through the day.

"Motorists are being strongly cautioned to avoid travel if at all possible from Tuesday afternoon through all of Wednesday," the Rock County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Forecasts are never perfect, however, so those responsible for clearing the streets are making plans but preparing to change them as the storm develops.

Janesville city plows won't be plowing this morning if the snowfall overnight is light, said John Whitcomb, city operations director. Crews will likely work on the main thoroughfares tonight and Wednesday, staying out of residential areas until the storm ends, he said.

Clearing the entire city normally takes about 10 hours, Whitcomb said, but if the snow is as deep as predicted—some forecasts call for 15 inches over the two days—then it could take longer.

"If you don't have to be out, don't be out, and expect those residential streets are not going to get cleared up until 10 to 12 hours, probably, after it stops snowing," Whitcomb said. "You know, these (big storms) come along once in a while, and we deal with them as best we can."

One saving grace might be the temperatures. Whitcomb said if the temperatures stay low, the snow will be lighter and fluffier. If that's the case, the snow might not stick as hard as it has in past years, when big, wet snows froze solid on some streets.

Motorists can dial 511 or go online to 511wi.gov to get the latest information on road conditions on main routes across Wisconsin.