The Milwaukee area and much of eastern Wisconsin is seeing its first snowfall of the season as heavy, wet snow dropped during the Thursday morning commute.

Two to four inches of snow are possible in some areas, especially those further from Lake Michigan.

Many areas of the state are under a Winter Weather Advisory through the late morning due to hazardous driving conditions. The advisory is in effect from 6 a.m. to noon from Sheboygan through Kenosha counties, including Milwaukee County, and as far west as Iowa and Lafayette counties.

"There is an area of intense snowfall, and it is winding down the eastern half of the state," said Milwaukee-Sullivan National Weather Service meteorologist Marcia Cronce. She said snowfall will be heaviest in the Milwaukee area between about 7 and 8 a.m.

"Then, it's going to continue snowing for another hour or two, and then it's going to change over to rain," she continued.

The weather service warns that roads, especially bridges and overpasses, will be "slick and hazardous" during the snowfall due to slush accumulations. The agency advises people to watch their first few steps on outdoor stairs, sidewalks and driveways Thursday morning as "these surfaces could be icy and slippery, increasing your risk of a fall and injury."

Additionally, high winds with gusts up to 45 mph are in the forecast throughout the region through the evening in some areas, causing reduced visibility for drivers, sideways-falling snow and possible downed tree branches. Winds begin in the westerly direction in the morning and are expected to shift to northwesterly and then north by the afternoon, Cronce said.

When it comes to the Thursday morning commute, "allow extra time to reach your destination," Crone said. "Don't follow too close to other cars. Slow down, and delay your travel if you can."

When and how much will it snow in Milwaukee and Wisconsin?

Snow is in the forecast in the Milwaukee area from 6 a.m. to noon, with the heaviest snowfall expected between about 7 and 8 a.m. Areas further south will see the heaviest snow between about 8 and 9 a.m.

Snow will shift to rain by the afternoon. Heavier rainfall is expected to taper off by 3 p.m., with showers lasting through the evening, Cronce said. Accumulated snow should melt in the afternoon rain.

"So, the morning commute is very hazardous, and then the evening commute should be fine," Cronce said.

Communities right along Lake Michigan are expected to see lower snow totals, she added. "Inland from the lake, you might see two to three inches. And then, Kettle Moraine area, like Washington and Waukesha counties, you could see two to four inches, even five locally."

First snow road conditions update

The City of Milwaukee said its crews are in a "general ice control operation," ensuring that roads are "safe and passable" as snow continues in the area.

Numerous roads, including interstates and highways, in the Milwaukee area and eastern Wisconsin have been reported as "slippery" or "snow-covered" Thursday morning. Additionally, dozens of crashes and disabled vehicles have been reported, leaving some roads and ramps closed.

For the most updated map of road and ramp closures, traffic, crashes and disabled vehicles, visit 511wi.gov.

Wisconsin weather warnings

Wisconsin weather radar

Image courtesy of the Wisconsin Bike Fed.

MILWAUKEE: The Wisconsin Bike Fed joyously announces the registration information and event details for the annual Milwaukee Santa Cycle Rampage on Saturday, December 7, 2024.

“It’s the World’s Largest Winter Holiday Themed Costume Bike Ride for Charity!” explains event organizer and Wisconsin Bike Fed Assistant Director, Jake Newborn. “We expect over 1500 Santas, Elves, Reindeer, Ralphies, Grinches, and more to celebrate the joy of cycling at this fundraiser for the Wisconsin Bike Fed. Ride registrations support our programs such as bike education for kids, free repairs for low income residents, and staff time for advocacy projects statewide.”

Santa Cycle Rampage is a slow roll-style parade, police-escorted route with two main ride start options that end at the Bike Fed office (187 E Becher St, Milwaukee): 1. Join at the start and ride a full loop ride from the Bike Fed office and back. ~13 miles 2. Join the Rampagers at Hollander Grand Café on Downer Ave and ride the 2nd half. ~7 miles

Returning this year is the 3-mile very family-friendly ride, the “Elf Cycle Frenzy,” led by our Safe Routes to School instructors. Riders will leave from the start/finish line immediately after the main ride departs, approximately 9:45am, to ride through the Bay View neighborhood and end at Centraal Grand Café for a hot cocoa bar and snacks for kids. Participants may register for that ride in the same way as the main ride and stay tuned for more details emailed to registered riders.

Pre-Check In Event: Friday December 6, 2024 187 E Becher St. inside Wheel and Sprocket. 2pm – 4pm: Media invited for interviews. 2pm – 6pm: Registered riders can pick up packets and merch items to avoid day of event long lines.

Event Details and Registration: Saturday, December 7, 2024 7 am: Staff setup. Media invited to conduct interviews. 8 am: Riders begin to arrive at the Bike Fed office. 9:30 am: SHARP! Ride begins. 9:45 am: Elf Cycle Frenzy ride begins. 10:15ish am: Ride reaches Hollander Grand Café on Downer Ave. 11:30 am: Ride returns to the Bike Fed office.

Visit the event website for details and registration: https://give.wisconsinbikefed.org/event/2024-santa-cycle-rampage-mke/e616531

Onlookers and fans of Santa can watch the ride pass by with great viewing locations all along the route!

Past Event Video Links and Photos: https://youtu.be/gNEwKGT1J5s https://youtu.be/NhwcVUzf5pU Event photos from 2023

Be Merry: Riders are encouraged to dress warmly and not only as Santa but their favorite holiday characters. Ride begins and ends with warm drinks for sale and fire pits at the Wheel and Sprocket in Bay View. Riders are encouraged to visit any of our Santa Gathering locations welcoming riders in costume:

Santa Gathering Places Locations Hollander Grand Café 2608 N Downer Ave, Milwaukee Lakefront Brewery 1872 N Commerce St, Milwaukee Great Lakes Distillery 616 W Virginia St, Milwaukee Wheel & Sprocket 187 E Becher St, Milwaukee Boone & Crockett 818 S Water St, Milwaukee Nomad World Pub 1401 E Brady St, Milwaukee The Roman Coin 1004 E Brady St, Milwaukee Component Brewing 2018 S 1st St #169, Milwaukee Station 1846 215 W Bruce St, Milwaukee Urban Harvest Brewing 1024 S 5th St, Milwaukee Centraal Grand Café 2306 S Kinnickinnic Ave, Milwaukee

For interviews or additional information prior to the event date, please contact event organizer and Bike Fed Assistant Director Jake Newborn at 414-253-3331 or [email protected].

To find out more about the Bike Fed’s mission and programs, please visit our website.

Holiday festivities continue with Santa Cycle Rampage-Madison on Saturday, December 14, 2024.

About the Wisconsin Bike Fed The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin Educational Foundation, Inc. (AKA Wisconsin Bike Fed) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that cultivates, motivates, and unites residents, communities, businesses, and political leaders to move bicycling forward in Wisconsin through education, legislation, and involvement. The Wisconsin Bike Fed is the only statewide organization that advocates for better bicycling for everyone who rides a bike in Wisconsin:

● Advocate for cycling – including encouragement for the governor to include transportation access and environmental concerns in biennial budgets. ● Provide programs to make bicycling safer and more accessible across the state – particularly in the state’s most populous urban communities of Milwaukee and Madison. ● Promote Wisconsin as an economic engine for cycling – highlighting scenic trails and emphasizing the many large and small businesses that support bicycling as direct producers, repairers, or vendors of bikes and related accessories, as well as the hospitality industry that benefits from cycling. According to the most recent impact study released by the governor’s office in 2020, consumers spent $1.42 billion in 2017 on direct bicycle-related expenditures, bringing funds into our businesses and state budget.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

NEW YORK, N.Y., and Milwaukee, WI, November 19, 2024 – Jan Wade, since 2007 the president and general manager of WISN-TV, Hearst Television’s ABC affiliate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will retire at the end of this year, capping a career of more than four decades at leading television stations in seven major markets. Wade’s successor will be named at a later date.

“Leveraging her deep industry experience, Jan has led WISN to a consistent level of excellence and quality in all facets of the organization while further solidifying its position as Milwaukee’s news leader,” said Michael J. Hayes, Hearst Television president. “Jan is a broadcaster and she has led by example while expanding and strengthening WISN’s important role in the community.”

“I feel blessed to have spent the past four decades working in a profession that I am so passionate about,” Wade said. “I am also greatly honored to have worked beside many valued and talented colleagues all along the way. I will cherish them. I am also particularly grateful to have spent the past several years with Hearst Television. Finally, it is my hope that I have made a small difference in the stations and the communities I’ve served.”

Wade was Milwaukee’s first female television general manager and, under her leadership, WISN – which recently celebrated its 70^th anniversary -- substantially expanded its local news and programming. During her time there, WISN expanded weekday morning news, adding newscasts at 4:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., as well as afternoon and evening newscasts at 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. The station also added an award-winning Sunday morning public affairs program, “Upfront,” and a weekly sports magazine show, “Big 12 Sports Saturday.”

The expansion of WISN’s local news and programming fortified its position as Southeastern Wisconsin's news leader; the station held its market leading news position throughout Wade’s time there and for more than five years has won all local weekday newscasts in every major sweeps period. The station’s leadership in news has earned it numerous awards, including multiple regional Edward R. Murrow Awards and a national Murrow, and the 2023 News Operation of the Year designation from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, which also has named WISN Station of the Year 10 times since Wade’s 2007 arrival.

In recognition of its community service efforts, WISN earned the prestigious Service to America Award from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Leadership Foundation in 2021 for helping raise more than $1 million to benefit The Hunger Task Force’s work to feed Milwaukee citizens impacted by the pandemic.

Prior to joining Hearst Television in 2007 as president and general manager of WISN-TV, Wade served as president and general manager of WATE-TV, the ABC affiliate in Knoxville, Tennessee. Before that, she served in various roles in top TV stations in Nashville, Tampa, Providence and Minneapolis. She began her career as an assistant promotion manager at Louisville CBS affiliate WLKY-TV, which was later acquired by Hearst.

Wade holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Ball State University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude as a Journalism and Broadcasting double major.

Among industry duties, she was board chair of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association and currently serves as a member of its Executive Committee and co-chair of its Diversity and Inclusion Committee; she served for five years on the ABC TV Board of Governors; and she served as a National Association of Broadcasters Ambassador. Among many civic affiliations, she has served on the boards of the Pabst Mansion, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Florentine Opera and as chair of the Wilson Center of the Arts.

Wade was included in Milwaukee Business Journal’s “Women of Influence” honor roll in 2017, and last year received The Silver Circle Award from the Midwest/Chicago Emmy Chapter.

About Hearst Television

Hearst Television owns and/or operates 35 television and two radio stations serving 27 media markets across 39 states reaching over 24 million U.S. television households. Through its partnership with nearly all major networks, Hearst Television distributes national content over more than 120 video channels including programming from ABC, NBC, CBS, CW, MYNetworkTV, MeTV, Estrella and more. The radio stations are leaders in Baltimore news/talk and rock music listenership. Its Hearst Media Production Group unit produces original programming across linear and streaming platforms for domestic and international distribution. Its Very Local app, free to download on household OTT devices and available across popular streaming services, offers 24/7 access to local news, weather and an array of local and regional programming. Hearst Television is recognized as one of the industry's premier companies and has been honored with numerous awards for distinguished journalism, industry innovation, and community service. Hearst Television is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst.

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After Milwaukee's first snowfall of the season led to a morning of tricky road conditions, roads across the state are back to normal as of Thursday afternoon.

Up to five inches of wet, heavy snow blanked the Milwaukee area on Thursday, making for a "messy morning commute," the National Weather Service Milwaukee wrote on X. NWS also warned motorists to drive slowly and with caution throughout the day.

Here's the latest on road conditions in Milwaukee on Thursday.

More:Milwaukee, much of Wisconsin under Winter Weather Advisory as first snow falls this morning

What are the road conditions in and around Milwaukee today?

As of 2 p.m. Thursday, roads across the state are back to "good winter driving" conditions, according to 511 Wisconsin. With the snow giving away to rain in the early afternoon, roads have improved in time for most people's evening commutes.

That's after much of Milwaukee and its surrounding suburbs — including Interstates 41, 43 and 94 — were experiencing "slippery stretches" throughout the morning. Several highways also saw blocked due to crashes or stalled vehicles.

If you're traveling between Milwaukee and Madison via I-94 on Thursday, you might still want to brace for tougher driving conditions. NWS wrote on X that conditions south of the I-94 corridor, especially between Milwaukee and Madison, would "quickly deteriorate" as slushy snow accumulates throughout the day.

Accidents reported in Milwaukee on Thursday morning

As of 2:00 p.m. Thursday, there's only one remaining road incident in Milwaukee that is blocking traffic: the left shoulder of I-43 North at Hampton Avenue East is still blocked due to a crash, according to 511 Wisconsin. The incident was first reported at 7:23 a.m. Thursday.

The following road incidents are no longer flagged on 511 Wisconsin's tracker, meaning they have likely been resolved and the affected roadways are now clear:

To look up road conditions near you, check out 511 Wisconsin's live map.

Afternoon update: Snow has come to an end with rain and drizzle lingering into the evening

NEXT:

Updated: Thursday, November 21st 2:20pm:

The snow has come to an end as warmer temps above freezing has changed the snow over to rain and drizzle.

Bands of heavier snow really boosted snow totals in a few locations in southeast Wisconsin. Here are the final snow totals for this event,

Showers and drizzle will taper off later this evening.

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Updated: 11:30 a.m. Nov. 21, 2024

Here's the latest snowfall report:

Image

Temperatures cooled back quickly to provide overachieving snow totals from our first winter storm of the season! And now the snow is winding down for northern spots.

Image

But the wet weather isn't over. You can expect the snow to transition to rain from north to south during the noon hour.

Updated: 9:28 a.m. Nov. 21, 2024

Snow is still falling for all of southeast Wisconsin. A break from the heavy snow in the Waukesha/Milwaukee metro area has allowed road conditions to briefly improve, but another round of moderate to heavy and steady snow is moving in from the north.

Here's a look at the radar that will update with time:

The first round of snow totals is currently in with most of southeast Wisconsin seeing 1-4" of snowfall but these totals will go up as more accumulating snow is expected. Timing for the storm has not changed with most of southeast Wisconsin switching to rain by Noon and rain showers continuing this afternoon and evening. Some snow will melt with the afternoon rain and high temps around 40.

The wind is still expected to stay strong with wind gusts over 40 mph for part of the day. A wind advisory is now in effect for all of southeast Wisconsin through 6 PM.

The strong wind will keep feels like temperatures down in the chilly department with wind chills staying in the 20s to around 30 through the afternoon as high temperatures reach the low 40s.

Download the CBS 58 Ready Weather app to track the switch from snow to rain.

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Updated: 7:05 a.m. Nov. 21, 2024

The steady, heavy snow is now approaching the Milwaukee/Waukesha metro area after dumping some accumulating snow already in northern counties. The heavy areas of snow, shown in deep blue, are dropping 1" to 2" of snow per hour which is enough to overcome any warm ground or roads.

In addition to the snow, it is chilly! With wind gusts over 30 mph at times Thursday morning, wind chills are reaching down into the teens this morning. Wind chills will warm into the 20s to around 30 this afternoon as highs reach around 40.

Here's a look at current wind chills:

Even without the heavy snow reaching Milwaukee, the number of crashes on the roads has jumped to about a dozen every 30 minutes. Take it slow!

You can see the latest winter road conditions courtesy of the DOT here:

By the time the snow is done, most of southeast Wisconsin will see 1-3" of wet, slushy snow with the majority of accumulation on grass, cars, patio furniture, etc. The rest of the forecast for Thursday and the details on the winter weather advisory and wind advisory outlined below remains the same.

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Posted: 5:04 a.m. Nov. 21, 2024

The first measurable snow of the season is just about here! A winter weather advisory starts at 6 AM Thursday and goes until Noon. This will be a brief time period of snow, but moderate to heavy snow is expected during this time causing difficult travel right during the heart of the morning commute.

In addition to a winter weather advisory, a wind advisory has been newly issued from 6 AM Thursday to 6 PM. The strong wind gusts could lead to blowing snow but with the heavy, wet, slushy nature of the snow it won't cause any blizzard conditions. The wind will also push wind chills into the teens at times on Thursday so make sure to bundle up!

Wind gusts on Thursday are expected to peak around 45 mph! The wind will stay strong with gusts to 30 mph then we finally get a lighter wind on Saturday.

As of 5 AM, we've had persistent flurries and some light snow showers since Wednesday afternoon but the area of heavy, steady snow is still just to our north. That heavy snow is expected to quickly move south arriving in the Milwaukee/Waukesha Metro area around 6 AM and by 7 AM all of southeast Wisconsin should have the steady snow.

By noon most of southeast Wisconsin has seen the end of the accumulating snow with the snow mixing and switching to snow around the midday hours then all rain showers during the afternoon and evening. The accumulating snow in the morning should reach a range of 1-3" with highest totals in the Kettle Moraine where some areas could get over 3" and lowest totals near the lakefront.

Download the CBS 58 Ready Weather app to track the snow and wind.

Contributions to this story also made by: Rebecca Schuld