Late-season blizzard slams Wisconsin, delivers snow to Chicago -

It may be April, but that doesn’t mean Old Man Winter is ready to throw in the towel. Blizzard warnings were in effect to start the week in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and across northern Wisconsin, where strong winds and heavy snow are combining to reduce visibilities below a quarter-mile.

Even Chicago was facing intermittent snow showers to start the day, garnishing the roadways ahead of the morning commute. In Madison, Wis., snow totals of 2 to 5 inches were anticipated, with the snow slated to wind down on Monday afternoon.

5:10pm. Take a look at this Wisconsin DOT camera in western Wisconsin. Parts of western Wisconsin could end up with over a foot of snow out of this system! Only around 1" expected in Milwaukee with 2-3" in our inland counties. Much higher the farther west you go into western WI. pic.twitter.com/EUt8sy2ryX

— Tom Wachs (@Tom_Wachs) April 16, 2023

The late-season snowstorm also delivered plowable snows west of the Twin Cities, with reports of thundersnow farther east as the system intensified.

It marks the kickoff of a cooler pattern that will bring below-average temperatures to much of the eastern United States into the end of April.

The setup

Instigating the active weather is a mature low-pressure system over Lake Michigan, which will transfer its energy to a new low-pressure center that will slip northeast into central Ontario.

Ahead of the counterclockwise-spinning low, mildness and moisture wafted northward thanks to southerly winds. That brought highs in the lower-to-mid-80s to the East Coast on Thursday and Friday. Behind the low, meanwhile, frigid northwesterly winds are pumping in south Canadian air with temperatures of 20s and 30s. That’s helping flip moisture to snow in the cool air wraparound of the system.

Predominantly light snow was falling around sunrise over Michigan, Lake Michigan, northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois, but a more solid band of moderate snowfall was tracking east through central Wisconsin.

That’s where winds are gusting over 45 mph at times, leading to localized blizzard conditions. Blizzard warnings remain in effect across northern Wisconsin until 7 p.m. Monday.

“Travel could be very difficult,” wrote the National Weather Service. “Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches.”

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Latest snow reports

Here were some of the latest snowfall reports as of 7 a.m. Central time on Monday:

19 inches — Neillsville, Wis.
16 inches — Sparta, Wis.
14 inches — Irving, Wis.
13 inches — Loyal, Wis.
12.8 inches — Onalaska, Wis.
11 inches — Mindoro, Wis.
11 inches — Mound Prairie, Minn.
10 inches — Winona, Minn.
9 inches — Arcadia, Wis.
8 inches — Chisholm, Minn.

La Crosse, Wis., was closing in on double-digit totals, which could help the city log its second-biggest April snowstorm on record, with bookkeeping dating back to 1938. It will still fall far short of the April 9-10, 1973, snowstorm, which dropped 16.3 inches.

How rare is this?

Late-season snowstorms are quite common over the Upper Midwest. Minneapolis, for example, averages 3.5 inches of snow during the month of April; La Crosse typically sees on the order of 2.9 inches, and Green Bay, Wis., gets a mean of 4.7 inches in April.

Even in Chicago, where a half-inch or so is expected, April snows are far from unheard of. About 20 percent of years feature an April with more than 3 inches of snow; April 1975 tallied 11.1 inches. And in 1966, the Windy City saw measurable snow as late as May 11 — when 0.2 inches fell.

Chicago hit a record of 83 degrees on Thursday, also managing to climb to 80 degrees or higher Friday and Saturday.

A cooler pattern

The swirling twirl of low pressure is pumping in a chilly air mass, which will knock temperatures back briefly, but it paves the way for a longer-lived cooler-than-average pattern.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center forecasts likely odds of below-average temperatures for much of the eastern United States, with cold-skewed weather favored across the entire Lower 48, save for Florida. The cooler weather should help round out April and usher in May, probably working to suppress widespread flare-ups of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes for at least the next two weeks.

A general moderation in temperatures should come as the calendar flips to May.

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