NWS Issues Winter Storm Watch For Northwestern Wisconsin

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The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a winter storm watch for northwestern Wisconsin.

The watch lasts from Wednesday night until Thursday evening.

May snowstorms are rare, even for far northern Wisconsin. But it seems especially cruel since today temperatures are in the 70s in Superior – even 81 in Phillips.

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“I’m sure a lot of people didn’t think we’d be sitting here this afternoon with temperatures in the mid-70s to around 80 across northwest Wisconsin,” says NWS meteorologist Dean Melde.

Melde says there’s lots of uncertainty on exactly where, when and how much snow will fall. For instance, Hayward could get no snow, or 20 inches of snow. Besides toying with a bad case of spring fever, Melde says the fast snowmelt going on now, coupled with this storm, means rapidly rising rivers.

“We’ve been working with the emergency managers, law enforcement and others over there. If we end up getting it and it comes quick enough, we could see some additional flooding.”

By Friday, the day before Wisconsin’s fishing opener, the snow is expected to turn to rain in northwestern Wisconsin.