Forecasters Say Warmer Temps Coming As Frigid Conditions Begin To Ease

Many Midwesterners who bundled up like polar explorers this week because of subzero temperatures might soon get by with a light jacket.

Forecasts say the region will see a rapid thaw over the next few days, with temperatures climbing by as much as 80 degrees. Experts say it’s unprecedented, and it could create problems of its own such as bursting pipes, flooding rivers and crumbling roads.

“The weather pattern is pretty much gonna do a 180 degree flip on us,” said Ben Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Milwaukee. “Things were coming out of the north this past week, we’re gonna get a nice warm up from the south this weekend. We’re going to get air that’s basically coming from the Gulf of Mexico.”

Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the Weather Underground, said past cold waves haven’t dissipated as quickly as this one is going to.

Rockford, Illinois, saw a record-breaking 31 degrees below zero Thursday but should be around 50 degrees Monday. Other previously frozen areas can expect temperatures of 55 degrees or higher.

The National Weather service reported Friday and Saturday won’t be as cold.

In Madison and Milwaukee, highs will climb to about 17 degrees Friday and overnight lows will dip to 13 degrees. By Saturday, highs will climb to the upper 30s. On Sunday, it will be cloudy with a 40 percent chance of light rain. Daytime highs will be in the lower 40s. More rain is expected Monday, with temperatures climbing to the upper 40s.

The weather service reported early Friday morning that the temperature at La Crosse Regional Airport climbed to zero. This ended a 72-hour subzero temperature streak, which began between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Tuesday. During this streak, the average temperature was 14 degrees below zero and the average wind chill was 32.3 degrees below zero. This was the longest stretch of subzero temperatures since a 143-hour stretch in 1996. The average temperature then was 17.7 degrees below zero and the average wind chill was 35 degrees below zero. This was the longest stretch ever recorded, with those numbers being kept back to 1948.

In Madison, the warm temperatures and anticipated rain are raising concerns about flooding.

“It’s got nothing to do with whether an area is high or low,” said Madison Mayor Paul Soglin.

Instead, it’s the fact that many of the city’s 20,000 storm drains and inlets are packed with snow and ice. Although city staff will clear as many inlets as they can beginning Friday and continuing through the weekend, Soglin has asked residents to “adopt an inlet” and clear out the storm drains on their blocks.

“You go out there, if you’ve got something for chopping ice that’d be great, and a shovel, and see if you can break it up,” Soglin said.

Fiona Stoner lives in Madison and is known on her block for clearing storm drains.

“In particular, our street, there can be quite a bit of flooding,” Stoner said. “So I get out there and it’s pretty simple, just clean it off and suddenly it starts working well.”

So when Stoner heard about the adopt an inlet pleas, she thought, “Well I can get on board with that!”

She typically takes on her block alone, but she said she’ll encourage others to help out this time.

“We’re part of a community,” Stoner said. “Let’s get out there and start cleaning out storm drains. Let’s do the things that make it easier for the rest of us to move around the city.”

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is cautioning that travel conditions could be dynamic.

“As the weather shifts it could make anything from standing water to additional ice, and of course there could be some potholes that form out there,” said David Hunt, a DOT spokesman. “We’re asking drivers to check 5-1-1 often, exercise additional caution, take it slow and be wary that there could be some workers out there doing some minor repairs, so just watch out and give them a space to work.”

Milwaukee Man Found Dead In Yard In Bitter Cold

Authorities are investigating the death of a man found frozen in his backyard in a Milwaukee suburb.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the home in Cudahy on Thursday, the same day that temperatures plunged to record lows in several Midwestern cities.

No details about the man or what preceded his death were immediately released. An autopsy is scheduled.

At least 16 deaths are now blamed on the bitterly cold weather that has held much of the region in a historic deep freeze.

Editor’s note: This story was updated with original reporting by WPR staff.