Historic blizzard sweeps Wisconsin, blanketing Merrill in white and shutting down much of the state

A powerful late-winter blizzard swept across nearly all of Wisconsin the weekend of March 14-16, 2026, and the Merrill area was no exception, with the city receiving roughly 18 inches of snow and some area residents reporting totals ranging from 13 to 30 inches. Wausau recorded 30.9 inches as of Monday afternoon, breaking multiple records including the most snowfall in both a 24-hour period and a two-day period.

Second storm in days
The weekend storm was actually the second round of significant snowfall in just a few days for the Merrill area. A Thursday evening storm on March 12 dropped roughly seven inches of snow, prompting Merrill Area Public Schools (MAPS) and area parochial schools to cancel in-person classes for Friday. That storm was just a preview of the main event.

Emergency declarations
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a statewide emergency on Saturday, March 14, directing all state agencies, including the Wisconsin National Guard, to assist in response and recovery efforts. Closer to home, Jesse Boyd, Chair of the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors, signed a Declaration of Local State of Emergency on March 15, covering all of Lincoln County.

The declaration cited blizzard conditions identified by the National Weather Service, and Lincoln County Emergency Management warned in a press release of “whiteout conditions and near-impossible travel” caused by widespread wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles per hour or greater, along with the potential for utility disruptions and other infrastructure impacts. Residents were urged to “avoid unnecessary travel, remain alert to changing conditions, and follow official instructions, advisories, and warnings issued by Lincoln County and the National Weather Service.”
The City of Merrill also declared a snow emergency, running from midnight Saturday, March 14, through noon Monday, March 16, to allow plow crews to clear city streets.

Stay home, officials urged
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) added to the chorus of warnings, issuing a release on March 15 urging residents statewide to stay home and limit travel to emergencies only. Lincoln and Marathon counties were among 18 northcentral Wisconsin counties where, according to the WisDOT press release, “all highways are completely covered with snow or impassable,” with travel restricted to emergencies only. Blowing and drifting snow reduced visibility to near zero at times, and snowplows struggled to keep pace with accumulating snow across the region. It was a scene playing out across much of the state — from the northwest to the northeast — marking one of the most widespread and disruptive winter storms in Wisconsin’s recent history. Motorists were directed to monitor road conditions at 511wi.gov or through the 511 Wisconsin app.

Businesses, schools, and churches closed

On Sunday morning, March 15, many businesses were closed across the state, and in Lincoln and Marathon Counties, even many churches had canceled in-person worship services. Some churches, including Catholic churches historically unlikely to cancel Mass, had posted on their websites and Facebook pages, urging parishioners to attend Saturday afternoon and evening Masses due to canceled Sunday morning Masses in anticipation of impassable roads and safety concerns during the coming blizzard.
Several Lincoln County facilities were closed to the public on Monday, including the Lincoln County Service Center, the Health and Human Services Building and Lincoln County Solid Waste.
The storm’s effects kept many residents home Monday, as well. MAPS and area parochial schools were either closed or operating virtually, as dangerous wind gusts continued even after snowfall ended, creating near-zero visibility at times. Many side roads had not yet been plowed, and crews were also battling drifting snow that sometimes closed roads again even after they had been initially cleared, making travel dangerous and unpredictable.
Major employers including Weinbrenner, Lincoln Wood, and Sierra Pacific also closed Monday, and many smaller businesses followed suit.

Crashes and road crews

The human toll of the storm became evident when the Wisconsin State Patrol posted on Facebook on Monday morning, March 16, at approximately 10 a.m. In just the previous 24 hours, the State Patrol reported responding to 92 crash investigations — 11 of which involved injuries. In that same 24-hour timeframe, they had also responded to 225 vehicle runoffs and 188 motorist assists statewide, underscoring why officials were so insistent that residents stay off the roads.
Motorists weren’t the only ones impacted. Many of the plows attempting to clear the roadways also became stuck or ran off the side of the roadway and had to be pulled out by other machines before they could continue on. Due to the sheer volume of snow and blizzard conditions, there was often no way to clearly determine where the road actually was.
Road crews worked through the storm and into the following days to clear county and city streets — no small task with snowfall totals like these. Residents, meanwhile, faced the equally daunting job of digging out driveways and sidewalks, with some areas and vehicles buried under two-and-a-half feet of snow.

Power outages
While not a major problem in Lincoln County, some residents also lost power during the storm. Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) reported scattered outages across its service area but that, as of about 9:30 p.m. on Monday, March 16, its crews had restored power to more than 11,000 customers since early Sunday morning, working through whiteout conditions, treacherous roads, and more than two feet of snow. The company indicated that in some cases, WPS employees had manned company plow equipment to help clear the way for its crews to access outages and storm damage.

WPS expected to have restored power to most customers by Tuesday morning, with crews continuing to repair outages in the hardest-hit communities in Door County until Tuesday night. According to the WPS power outage map on its website, as of 6 a.m. on Tuesday, just 590 customers were without power, 583 of those in Door County.
Sturgeon Bay in Door County reported receiving 33.2 inches of snow in a 24-hour period, with drifts up to eight feet deep — topped only by Mountain, in Oconto County, which recorded 34 inches in the same timeframe.
The company said all available crews continued to work nonstop until power was fully restored.
Thousands of other We Energies customers, as well as customers of Alliant Energy and Madison Gas and Electric, were also reported to have lost power in other areas of the state that WPS does not serve.

A reminder from utilities

WPS is reminding customers they should brush off snow and ice from energy meters and ensure all furnace and appliance vents (including water heater and dryer vents) are not blocked by snow, to prevent damage and to avoid trapping carbon monoxide indoors, which could be deadly. All homes should also have carbon monoxide detectors.