Goodbye Warm Weather: First Big Snowfall Expected Thursday

It's hard to believe that it is January, as sweaters and fleeces are more common on the streets than the hats, mittens and winter coats typically seen this time of year.

Between Madison and Milwaukee, we’ve received less than five inches of snow, which puts this year in the top 20 of having the least snowfall since the 1800s when they started tracking temperatures.

But don't put those winter coats into storage just yet. The National Weather Service reports 3 to 6 inches of snow will fall tomorrow, with north wind between 10 and 15 mph. Later in the night, the wind will pick up to as high as 35 mph, making for blustery conditions.

To get a sense of how mild this winter has been, Assistant Village Engineer Aaron Jahncke said the village has used about 440 tons less salt than last year at this time.

Last year, the village used 500 tons of salt over the course of 14 snow events, and this year, the village has used a modest 60 tons of snow during the three snow events. Of the three snowfalls this year, one was freezing rain and the other two were light snow.

He said the village is geared up and ready to handle the first major snowfall of the year.

“The trucks are full, and the guys are ready to go,” he said.

He said the village usually concentrates on main roads, like Hampton Road, Lake Drive, Marlborough Drive, Santa Monica Boulevard and Silver Spring Drive first, and then they move on to the local neighborhood streets.

Blowing and drifting are expected late Thursday as well to make driving hazardous. Before you head out check out these links:

School/Business/Civic closings

Catching a flight? Make sure it's on time

WE Energies power outage maps