Ice-covered roads create dangerous travel across Wisconsin
Wet, untreated surfaces across Wisconsin could become icy overnight as temperatures dip below freezing, according to the National Weather Service in Sullivan, which urged anyone driving Tuesday night to slow down and allow extra time to get to their destination.
Icy roads have created dangerous travel conditions for the past several days and led to a pile-up of as many as 40 vehicles near Madison Tuesday morning.
The Dane County Sheriff's Office reported that the pile-up occurred when drivers couldn't navigate a hill and curve in the Town of Primrose, about 25 miles southwest of Madison. Many of the drivers lost control on the ice-glazed road, hit a guard rail and slid into a cornfield. One female driver suffered minor injuries.
The conditions were so treacherous that sheriff's officials in Columbia County, the northern neighbor to Dane County, told drivers in an early morning message to stay off the roads unless "absolutely necessary." Dozens of school districts in the region canceled classes, and the Dane County Sheriff's Office reported responding to about 70 calls related to icy roads Tuesday.
Ice-covered roads and slippery, dangerous travel conditions were reported Monday night and Tuesday morning as a mix of freezing rain and sleet fell across the state.
Highways and major roads in the Milwaukee area were largely just wet Tuesday morning as temperatures in the mid-30s allowed the salt to do its work. Just north, however, in Dodge and Sheboygan Counties, a number of schools were closed or delayed because of icy conditions.
Conditions were worse in the central part of the state, where law enforcement urged no travel on large portions of US 12, 14 and 151 early Tuesday morning.
Patchy fog is expected in Milwaukee overnight and before 2 p.m., Wednesday, according to the weather service.
Otherwise Wednesday in Milwaukee is expected to be mostly sunny, with a high temperature near 42 degrees and a southwest wind between 5-10 mph, according to the weather service forecast.