GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — It’s the anniversary of one of the largest blizzards in Green Bay history.
It’s difficult to remember when the weather is far nicer, but but three years ago 11 inches of snow fell two days in a row in one of the worst snow storms Northeast Wisconsin has ever seen.
Pete Petoniak is the Director of Meteorology at Green Bay’s Fox 11. He was on duty as the blizzard began to roll in.
“Overall it was the second largest snowstorm since records began back in 1888,” Petoniak told WTAQ. “There was one more storm that had more. It was 29 inches… back in 1888.”
Needless to say, we couldn’t find anybody who remembered that one.
“Always, in the back your mind–even as a meteorologist–you think; ‘it’s the middle of April. This has never happened before,'” Petoniak said.
Happen, however, it did.
Snow began falling on April 13th, 2018. It wasn’t much–a mere two inches or so. The very next day, however, 11 inches of snow fell. The day after, April 15th, another 11 inches of snow fell.
When the dust–or snow–finally settled, 24.2 inches of snow had fallen in Green Bay and 20 inches in Appleton. It wasn’t winter wonderland-esque, powdery snow either. It was wet, heavy, and concrete-like in consistency…and it wrecked havoc.
Cars damaged by a crushed car port during the Blizzard of April 2018. (Fox 11 Online)
“There were roofs that went down, there were businesses that were damaged because of the heaviness of the snow,” said Petoniak. “Some businesses took months, really, to recover.”
It was a major headache for road workers, too. They had their hands full.
“The worst case scenario for us, in my opinion, from my experience here, happened,” said Chris Pirlot, Green Bay’s Public Works Operations Director. “We had a warm, wet snowfall.”
Cars, as they drove over the snow, packed it down. The damp, heavy snow made it hard to remove.
“Generally speaking, looking back at my notes, I think we did okay,” said Pirlot. “If nothing else, mother nature cooperated. She made it melt away so we can all get on with our lives.”
There’s a reason public works crews in the area never actually stop preparing for possible winter weather, even as we get deep into spring.
“Once April starts rolling around, DPW is reducing our winter preparedness fleet, but not down to zero,” Pirlot said. “We don’t want to forget about winter.”
If April of 2018 taught us anything, it’s that you should never forget about winter. Because, winter? It never forgets about you.
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