Photos: Remembering the Great Ice Storm of 1976
The Great Ice Storm of March 1976 knocked television stations off the air, caused Madison's reservoirs to dry up and left more than 600,000 Wisconsin residents without power for days.
It started as rain on Monday, March 1, and kept up all week. Temperatures near freezing were too cold to melt the ice. On March 4, freezing rain came in earnest as more than 1.5 inches fell that day, adding a thicker coating to the already icy tree limbs.
It may be wishful thinking proclaimed by this road sign in Fitchburg, because a blizzard probably would not have done as much damage as the ice storm that downed this power pole and the electric lines it carried.
Mount Horeb High School students help clean up broken limbs on North 2nd Street.
Icicles on a barbed-wire fence in the aftermath of the March 4, 1976, ice storm.
Wires short out on a utility pole at 6209 Bridge Road in Monona during the ice storm of March 1976.
Cars off the road during the Madison Ice storm of March 1976.
Fence along Highway 73 following the ice storm of March 1976.
The ice storm devastated the countryside between Cambridge and Stoughton in eastern Dane County.
Front page of the Wisconsin State Journal from March 5, 1976.
Page from the Wisconsin State Journal from March 6, 1976.
Front page of the Wisconsin State Journal from March 6, 1976.
Page from the Wisconsin State Journal from March 6, 1976.
It may be wishful thinking proclaimed by this road sign in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, because a blizzard probably would not have done as much damage as the March 1976 ice storm that downed this power pole and the electric lines it carried.
Wires short out on a utility pole at 6209 Bridge Road in Monona, Wisconsin, during the ice storm of March 1976.
Cars slide off the road during the Madison ice storm of March 1976.
A fence along Wisconsin Highway 73 shows the aftermath of the ice storm of March 1976.
The March 1976 ice storm devastated the countryside between Cambridge and Stoughton in eastern Dane County, Wisconsin.
Southern Wisconsin could see up to a quarter-inch of ice and northern Wisconsin a foot or more of snow as a big storm system moves through the central U.S. Monday and Tuesday, according to forecasters.
A heat advisory is in effect for most of southern and central Wisconsin starting Tuesday morning.
"It is time for the state legislators to act on Governor Evers nomination as soon as practical and it is now time for me to move on," Prehn said.
A 7-mile segment of Interstate 94 in Monroe County was closed for much of Wednesday after icy conditions led to crashes and made the highway “impassable,” authorities reported.
The weather can be variable in southern Wisconsin around the time of the spring equinox.
It could take several days for power to be restored to some MGE customers, and a small number of Alliant Energy customers may also experience multi-day outages.
Rising temperatures and continued rainfall into Saturday evening should gradually improve conditions.
Freezing drizzle did not develop across much of southern Wisconsin as previously forecast, so a large portion of the advisory was canceled.
Old Man Winter may not have put his feet on the ground quite yet, but he’s certainly been stirring in his icy quarters the last couple weeks, scattering fallen leaves with his glacial breath.
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