It may have started as rain — and lots of it — but the snow came with a vengenance late.
How are you dealing with today’s winter storm? What are you seeing? How much have you gotten in your backyard?
Post your comments below … and don’t forget about the city ordinance around snow removal. See my previous post on that here. And stay safe!
Update: Bender Park is also closed until Friday, according to the Oak Creek website. Here is some YouTube footage of waves at Grant Park.
In an amazing testatment to the power of Hurricane Sandy, weather officials are predicting waves higher than 15 feet on Lake Michigan on Tuesday. Winds are expected to gust to 40 mph or more.
In preparation for the storm, the access gates to Grant Park were going to close at 5 p.m. Monday, according to Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik.
“We are doing our best to keep visitors away from the dangerous waves,” she wrote in an email.
Here is Milwaukee Journal Sentinel coverage of the storm’s local impact.
I’ll keep you posted.
Filed under Milwaukee County, Parks, Weather
If you were outside around 6 p.m. Tuesday, you know it got quite windy as a cold front blew through the area.
One effect: It sent a large portion of a tree into a power line and across 15th Avenue north of City Hall. See the picture below.
The winds also caused some pretty widespread power outages. Here is the We Energies outage map.
Filed under Weather
Update: Fox 6 reported there was some minor street flooding along Marquette Avenue, a flood-prone area.
That’s what the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting. See it here.
And here is WISN’s rain gauge roundup, which puts South Milwaukee’s total at 1.35 inches.
The airport was reporting about three-quarters of an inch yesterday — certainly not enough to end the drought. But it helps.
Filed under Weather
A 67-year-old South Milwaukee man is one of five Milwaukee County residents suspected to have died from the recent heat wave.
That’s according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. See the story on Richard J. Waliszewski here, of the 1700 block of 17th Avenue, here. From it:
Waliszewski’s body was found by a police officer who went to check on him after neighbors reported they had not seen Waliszewski for some time, a medical examiner’s report says. The home was very warm, no windows were open and there was no air conditioning and no running water, the report states.
No body temperature was taken, the report notes. The report notes that Waliszewski had other health issues that may have contributed to his death.
Did you know Richard? Please post your comments below.
Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.
With things as hot and dry as they are — another heat advisory has been issued for Tuesday, when temperatures will soar well into the 90s — the South Milwaukee Fire Department is providing a good reminder about outdoor fire pits.
See a summary of the regulations on the city website here. You can brush up on the South Milwaukee outdoor burning ordinance here (page 37).
Filed under Weather
With the heat advisory issued for Thursday – and the heat index expected to soar into the low 100s – please be careful as you head out. Stay cool.
Here are a few local notes on the heat …
Remember that the elderly, infants and young children, persons with chronic health problems and people on medication for mental health conditions are most susceptible to heat-related health effects. Please pay special attention to people who may be isolated or unable to recognize the effects of extreme heat.
Here are additional tips from the Milwaukee County Heat Task Force, of which South Milwaukee Health Administrator Jacqueline Ove is a member.
I’ll keep you posted when I get more updates.
Filed under Weather
Update: The South Milwaukee Wastewater Treatment Plant reports the city had “just” 1.22 inches of rain from 7 a.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday.
The National Weather Service issued an urban and small stream flood advisory Sunday night, and one of the bodies of water included was Oak Creek in South Milwaukee.
So, I ask: With up to 1.75 inches of rain in the span of an hour, did you experience any flooding?
Post your comments below …
And I’ll keep you posted if I hear additional details.
Filed under Weather
A statewide tornado drill is set for Thursday.
What that means is the National Weather Service will issue a “test” tornado watch at 1 p.m., followed bv a “test” tornado warning at 1:45 p.m., with the latter including the interruption of broadcast radio and TV stations with alert information. The drill ends at 2 p.m.
Learn more from Ready Wisconsin and National Weather Service and in this press release from the Office of the Sheriff.
And in the event of a real emergency … consider this a reminder to sign up for the city’s mobile phone emergency alert system, if you haven’t already.
As part of the service, you can have text messages and emails sent to you every time there is a weather watch, warning or other special message broadcast by the National Weather Service. I get these, and they’re great at showing what’s happening with the ever-changing local weather in real time.
Of course, getting breaking weather news on your mobile device is just one benefit of the alert system. The system will fully activate during any local emergency, including Amber Alerts, with messages being automatically sent via landline phones (which are already automatically in the database) and mobile phones (if you sign up).
Learn more about the city’s emergency alert service here.
Filed under City Services, Weather
With a rare winter storm (at least for this year) upon us, it’s a good time to remind everyone about the city’s snow policies.
Check out a post from 2009 on this topic here and get more information on the Street Department page on the city’s website.
The snow has also caused power outages in Oak Creek and Bay View, so far. Learn more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Update: Here is the press release.
Excessive heat forecast for Wednesday has forced organizers to cancel the South Milwaukee Fire Department Spaghetti Dinner.
No makeup date was announced, and I’m not sure if there will be one. Full refunds for all tickets purchased are being offered by calling 768-8191.
Organizers of Evening on the Avenue and the South Milwaukee Downtown Market (both scheduled for Thursday) will meet with the city’s Emergency Management Team on Wednesday to discuss the status of those events.
I will keep you posted.
Remember, you can stay cool at the South Milwaukee Library, which is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Grobschmidt Pool, which is open from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. — extended evening hours due to the heat.
I never hated the wind until I co-founded a farmers’ market … and quickly learned that one good gust can mangle an E-Z Up tent in seconds.
That’s why I was a bit concerned when Thursday evening’s gusts literally came out of nowhere and whipped through South Milwaukee.
Thankfully, things were OK at the market, and we had a great night.
But on the way home, I came across this on 13th Avenue north of Milwaukee Avenue.
And power was knocked out in the area.
Did you have any damage? Post your comments below.
I just got back from an Iowa vacation, where we had severe weather each of the last two nights … only to return to more severe weather.
A flash flood warning has just been issued for Milwaukee County.
Are you seeing any flooding issues locally? Let me know by posting your comments below.
Filed under Weather
Here is some new information regarding the Blizzard of ’11 …
Again, thanks for your patience during the storm and its cleanup. This was truly a historic winter storm, and I know city workers are doing their absolute best to deal with it.
As always, please let me know of your continued feedback.
And I’ll leave you with this photo, which sums up the headaches of the past few days as well as any …
Jen Sielaff from the South Milwaukee School District reached out to me today with an important message: Please shovel your sidewalks as soon as possible, especially in those areas frequented by children walking to and from school.
It’s a safety issue … and a good reminder for all of us.
(And it’s also in the city ordinances.)
Filed under Weather
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