Jeremy Ratliff
Reporter
As if last week’s record setting bitter cold and wind wasn’t enough of Old Man Winter’s shenanigans, the Merrill area caught his attention once again Tuesday night, as nearly a foot of snow fell during the first major winter storm of the season.
The 2018-19 winter has proved to be rather bizarre compared to years past. A rather cold and snowy November was followed by an unusually mild, dry December and January. While the city had been targeted by various storm tracks this winter, few had actually hit their mark. Tuesday night that all changed when residents in the central and southern areas of Lincoln County found themselves the bullseye of a large, powerful storm track. By Wednesday morning, the official snowfall total from the Merrill Municipal Airport came in ten inches, which topped surrounding areas by 3-5 inches. Some in outlying areas around the city reported higher totals, including a 11.3 inch snowfall report in the Irma area. According to WJFW in Rhinelander, Tomahawk received the second highest accumulation in the area at 7.7 inches while Rhinelander received 7.5. Wausau reported 5.9 inches of snow as a result of the storm. Fortunately, the storm proved relatively uneventful from a safety standpoint. Both the Merrill Police Deparment and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office report minimal weather related incidents. In fact, only 2 vehicle crashes with property damage were reported during the snowfall and just five reported vehicles in the ditch county-wide. Within the city limits, Merrill officers responded to several requests for motorist assistance but only one minor vehicle crash , which occurred Tuesday afternoon.
As could be expected, the storm kept the staff of the Merrill Street and Lincoln Highway departments busy. City workers were busy from the time the heaviest of snow began to fall Tuesday evening-clearing main roads-while the entire plow fleet hit the streets at midnight, working through 9 AM Wednesday morning. According to Highway Commissioner John Hanz, county plows were on the road until 9 PM Tuesday, then returned at 3 a.m. Wednesday morning. As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, plow drivers were still at work.
Unfortunately, Tuesday’s event appears to be just the beginning. The Merrill will soon be under the watchful eye of the National Weather Service once again. What was once a Winter Storm Watch set to go into effect from 6 a.m. Thursday- 6 p.m. Thursday, has now been upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning and will go into effect at midnight tonight.
According to the National Weather Service Office in Green Bay; heavy mixed precipitation is expected with total snow accumulations of 5 to 11 inches. In addition, ice accumulations of a few hundredths up to one tenth of an inch possible. Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous conditions will impact the morning and evening commute on Thursday. Snowfall rates could approach 1 to 2 inches per hour late Thursday morning and Thursday afternoon.