LOCAL

Green Bay-area winter storm: WPS expects to restore power to most customers on Thursday

Jeff Bollier Ariel Perez Benita Mathew Christopher Clough
Green Bay Press-Gazette

Editor's note: This story was updated Thursday.

GREEN BAY - The number of Wisconsin Public Service Corp. customers without power peaked at more than 80,000 Wednesday afternoon, but the utility expect the majority of customers to have power by the end of Thursday.

In total, more than 110,000 Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) and We Energies customers lost power during this week's storm. Strong winds and heavy snow damaged more than 2,000 utility poles, downed power lines and dropped large trees on power lines across central and northeastern Wisconsin.

Crews by Thursday morning had restored service to more than 60,000 customers. WPS' outage map on Thursday indicated about 44,600 customers remained without power.

The utilities, both subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group, expect to restore power to the vast majority of impacted customers by the end of today with the help of utility crews from across Wisconsin and the Midwest.

The storm's wet snow and strong wind gusts closed major highways, forced businesses to adjust hours, and caused damage that led to widespread power outages across WPS's service area in northeastern and central Wisconsin.

Matt Cullen, WPS spokesperson, said crews made progress on outages Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, but customers continued to report new outages on Wednesday, complicating efforts to restore service as fast as possible.

Cullen said the storm did the most damage in Brown, Door, Oconto, Marinette and Menominee (Mich.) counties and that WPS has requested help from outside utility crews to help it restore service as fast as possible.

How many Green Bay, Door County and Marinette area customers remain without power?

The WPS power outage map shows how many northeastern Wisconsin customers remain without power on Thursday morning:

  • Brown County: 10,033
  • Calumet County: 1,110
  • Door County: 9,259 customers
  • Kewaunee County: 2,273
  • Marinette County: 11,065
  • Menominee (Mich.): 5,483
  • Oconto County: 4,416
Traffic passes a slushy intersection at South Clay Street and East Walnut Street in Green Bay.

"At this time, we haven’t determined a timeframe for repairs because the storm is still kind of moving its way out of northeast and north-central Wisconsin," Cullen said. "Once it clears out, that will help us better assess the damage and allow us to provide a more specific timeline for when repairs would be completed."

Cullen urged people who encounter downed power lines or utility poles to stay 25 feet away from it and to contact WPS and/or local law enforcement in order to make the scene safe. He also said residents should use their hands or a broom to clear off their gas meters and appliance vents.

A cyclist rides on a snow-covered sidewalk Wednesday along South Clay Street in Green Bay.

Door County opens warming shelters for residents impacted by storm, power outages

With more than 14,000 WPS customers in Door County without power as of noon Wednesday, Door County Emergency Management is collaborating with the American Red Cross, Gibraltar and Sister Bay/Liberty Grove fire departments and other local partners to set up community warming shelters for those affected by the winter weather conditions and power outages.

The Gibraltar Fire Department in Fish Creek and Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Department in Sister Bay have been designated as local warming shelters and currently are accessible to the public. Those in need of a warming shelter can call 211 for locations and hours of operation.

Emergency Management also encourages residents to check on family members, friends and neighbors who may be at higher risk for injuries or illness, especially the elderly and those with specific medical conditions. People experiencing symptoms of hypothermia or frostbite, or those with them, should call 911 for assistance.

One more inch of snow was expected Wednesday

About another inch of snow was expected Wednesday in the Green Bay area until the early afternoon, said Roy Eckberg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Green Bay. A winter storm warning was expected to expire at 1 p.m. 

That adds to the 5 inches of snowfall in Green Bay since Tuesday morning. Wednesday’s snow will accumulate on grassy surfaces instead of roads, Eckberg said. 

Wind gusts will stay in the 30 to 35 mph range before they weaken in the afternoon. Most of the storm damage and power outages happened Tuesday, and impacts from the snowstorm shouldn't be as hard Wednesday.

“The worst of the storm is over at this point,” he said.

Another inch of rain and snow could fall Wednesday night through Thursday morning, but it will be on the lighter side. After Thursday, temperatures will increase Friday. Highs will be in the high 40s and low 50s Saturday and Sunday. 

“There’ll be a warm up on the weekend and most of the snow should be gone by then,” Eckberg said.

Snow is piled up on Wednesday outside at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

More storm impacts:These Green Bay-area schools will be closed Wednesday, or on a 2-hour delay because of winter storm

A dozen reported traffic crashes with no injuries

Since the heavy snow started at about 4 p.m. Tuesday up until Wednesday morning, the Green Bay Police Department had reported 13 traffic crashes with no injuries.

Jennifer Gonzalez, communications coordinator for the police department, said only two were reported overnight into this morning.

"It is good news and we tend to see this too if people have enough notice that the storm is coming," she said.

However, Gonzalez urged drivers to drive slow and leave enough stopping distance when approaching stop signs.

Ramiro Garcia shovels snow on Wednesday at EZ Go Tire Service in Green Bay.

Door County state highway, eastern Brown County highways closed due to storm's impact

Storm damage and continued snow have closed sections of U.S. 41 near Peshtigo, State 57 in Door County and county highways east of Green Bay.

State 57 between County H, in Brussels, to State 42/County MM was closed Wednesday morning due to downed power lines hanging over the four-lane highway, according to the Door County Sheriff's Office. The highway reopened by the noon hour.

A stretch of U.S. 41 near the County Y exit in Peshtigo was closed at 1 a.m. Wednesday because of a downed transmission line, according to the Town of Peshtigo Fire Department.

State 57 was closed Wednesday morning south of Sturgeon Bay, between County H and State 42/County MM (whose intersection is seen here), because of power lines hanging very low across all four lanes of 57.

Andy Sell, highway superintendent for Brown County, said that as of Wednesday morning the intersection at South County P and State 54, between New Franken and Luxemburg, was closed. Also in the same area, the intersections at County P and Delcore Road and at County K and Gravel Pit Road were closed.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation Northeast Region canceled of all scheduled traffic impacts for Wednesday on the I-41 expansion project in Outagamie County and the I-41 rehabilitation project in Winnebago and Outagamie counties.

The interactive map from the WisDOT shows slippery stretches on State 54 between State 57 and County Line Road.

Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 orjbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier.