Powerful panhandle hook storm could drop more than a foot of snow on parts of Wisconsin, snarling Thanksgiving and deer hunting travel plans

A panhandle hook storm barreling toward Wisconsin is expected to turn half of the state into a big snowbank and soak the other half with cold rain.

Depending on travelers' destinations Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service is advising folks to change their plans to avoid a heavy snowfall approaching 12 inches in some places coupled with winds gusting to 35 mph.

Winter storm warnings have been issued for Tuesday night and Wednesday north of a line stretching roughly from La Crosse diagonally to Wausau and into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

More than a foot of snow could fall in some locations in Wisconsin. 

"This is one of the stronger (storm) systems we have seen this year," the National Weather Service in Sullivan said in a statement early Tuesday.

The Milwaukee metro area will see rain, including the possibility of thunder and lightning Tuesday night, the weather service said.

Also for the Milwaukee area, a wind advisory is in effect all day Wednesday, with gusts of 45 to 55 mph expected on the back side of the storm as it moves through the region. 

Panhandle hook 

The storm is a classic panhandle hook, meaning it's forming in the southwestern part of the U.S. and tracking through the panhandle regions of Texas and Oklahoma through Iowa and into Wisconsin. Unlike many storms that move west to east, this storm will push precipitation into southern Wisconsin first and then spread northward.

"We have a lot of strong winds moving in with the system, especially on Wednesday, so there could be some blowing snow," Cameron Miller, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Sullivan, said Monday.

"In the northern half (of the state), if you're not (to your destination) by Tuesday evening, you should probably wait until Wednesday afternoon to travel."

Folks traveling in southern Wisconsin or heading south into Illinois will likely only see rain because of warmer air.

Rain is expected to start falling between 2 and 4 p.m. Tuesday in southern Wisconsin and hit central Wisconsin about two hours later. But as the precipitation heads north, it will start to switch over to a wintry mix and then snow. 

Miller said there will be a sharp gradient on the southern side of the ridge, with some areas in central Wisconsin possibly getting 1 to 4 inches of snow, while farther north, snowfall accumulations could range from 6 to 10 inches or possibly even a foot of snow.

Rain and snow will be accompanied by blustery winds up to 35 mph. In the metro Milwaukee area peak wind gusts on Wednesday could be in the 40 to 45 mph range, said Miller.

It's possible southeastern Wisconsin will see the least of this storm, perhaps only half an inch to an inch of rain though it will be windy, particularly on Wednesday, Miller said.

Panhandle hooks usually occur in the late fall through winter, trekking northeast into the Great Lakes region. They have the potential to create a big area of heavy snow and are often preceded by nice weather — Monday's high is around 50 degrees. 

Panhandle hook storm systems are rare but when they hit, the weather changes so quickly, they often catch people off guard. The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior in a panhandle hook in 1975, and more than 100 people were killed in one that swept through the Midwest in November 1940, known as the Armistice Day Blizzard.

Thanksgiving day's forecast is clear with mostly cloudy skies and high temperatures in the 30s. But then another storm — Phase 2 of crummy Thanksgiving week weather — could materialize Friday night into Saturday morning. 

"It could potentially have the same track as the storm system that's moving in Tuesday and Wednesday," said Miller. "We can't give too many particulars on precipitation type, but we'll monitor it as it moves toward us."

More than 55 million travelers, including at least 1.1 million in Wisconsin, are traveling this week, according to AAA. That's the highest number since 2005.

In Wisconsin, more than 1 million people will make a trip of 50 miles or more from their home for the holiday, a 2.7% increase over last year, while 97,000 will fly somewhere, a 5.4% hike.

Travelers can monitor Wisconsin road conditions at 511wi.gov or by following @511WI on Twitter.

Though most highway construction has finished for the year, Thanksgiving holiday travelers should be aware of at least two large ongoing projects:

• I-94 in both directions between Racine County Highway G and College Avenue in Milwaukee where motorists should be alert to lane shifts, crossovers and reduced speeds. Some ramps remain closed in the work zone.

• I-39/90 from Janesville to the Illinois state line and I-43 near Beloit. North of that area, from Edgerton to Madison, three lanes are open in each direction.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation expects peak travel periods from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Sunday when hunters and holiday travelers return home.

Thousands of blaze orange-clad hunters were out in force for opening weekend of the nine-day gun-deer season that started Saturday. By noon Friday, sales for gun, bow, crossbow, sports and patron licenses reached 690,928, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. 

Nationally, AAA predicts 49.3 million people will travel by vehicle over the Thanksgiving holiday, 4.45 million will fly somewhere and 1.49 million will travel on trains, buses and cruise ships.