All of southern Wisconsin on winter storm watch
Weather service says 6-9 inches of snow possible
As the second storm this week continues to move toward the Milwaukee area, most counties in southern Wisconsin are under a winter weather advisory — with some southwestern counties under a winter storm warning.
Many southern counties were initially placed on a winter storm watch, but as the storm nears experts now have confidence that the system will bring less snow than originally thought.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service are now predicting the southern portion of the state will see 4 to 6 inches of snow Thursday into Friday.
Here's what you need to know about how it will play out.
Southern counties are expected to get the most snow
The storm is approaching on a more southern track and will hit southern Wisconsin the hardest.
Forecasters originally expected 6 to 9 inches of snow but as they have learned more about the storm they now predict 4 to 6 inches for much of southern Wisconsin. Despite the change in prediction, experts have not ruled out issuing a winter storm warning in southeast Wisconsin as the system continues to move into the state.
Some counties in the southwest and southcentral portion of the state, like La Crosse, Jackson and Grant, were changed from a winter storm watch to a winter storm warning as they expect 6 or more inches of snow.
Snow is expected to start as wet and heavy but as the storm persists it will become lighter and more fluffy. The morning commute on Friday is expected to be heavily affected by the weather.
Taylor Patterson, a meteorologist at the weather service, said that east to northeast winds coming off Lake Michigan have a good chance of enhancing snowfalls during this storm.
“Because of those winds in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Kenosha and Racine counties, there's a potential that they're going to have more snowfall than the people in further inland,” Patterson said.
Patterson added that areas near the lake should see light snowfall and flurries linger on Friday.
The northern part of the state will see smaller snowfall amounts
While the storm looks like it will affect southern Wisconsin the most, it will still be big enough to drop snow on all of the state, but Patterson said that the further north you are the smaller snowfall numbers are expected to be.