Milwaukee, WI
All of Wisconsin is under an Extreme Cold Warning today due to -30 degree wind chills
Here’s what Milwaukee looked like as the first snowfall of the season hit
Here’s what Milwaukee looked like as the first snowfall of the season hit with snow, ice and strong winds.
All of Wisconsin is under an Extreme Cold Warning Tuesday morning due to wind chills as cold as -35 degrees in some portions of the state.
The Extreme Cold Warning is in effect in southeastern Wisconsin, including the Milwaukee area, until noon. The National Weather Service warns that dangerously cold wind chills, as low as -30 degrees in the region, could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.
“Dress in layers including a hat, face mask, and gloves if you must go outside,” the weather service says. “Make frequent checks on older family, friends, and neighbors. Ensure portable heaters are used correctly. Do not use generators or grills inside.”
Wind chills will gradually improve throughout the late morning and afternoon but will remain below zero through Wednesday morning. Cold Weather Advisories may be needed over portions of the area following the expiration of the Extreme Cold Warning, NWS says.
Schools and many colleges throughout the Milwaukee area are closed due to the extreme cold. Here’s what to know.
How cold is it in Milwaukee today?
According to the NWS forecast, Milwaukee is expected to see a low of around -10 degrees and a late afternoon high of 1 degree on Tuesday.
Wind chills in the city will be between -30 and -20 until 1 p.m. Then, wind chills are expected to be between -20 and -15 for the remainder of the day. Wind chills will reach around 10 degrees by Wednesday afternoon.
It is possible Milwaukee could set a cold temperature record today. According to NWS data, Milwaukee’s lowest Jan. 21 high temperature of -4 degrees occurred in 1883.
When will temperatures warm up in Milwaukee?
Southerly winds will start bringing warmer air Tuesday night into Wednesday, which is when we’ll see our “biggest changes in temperature,” Milwaukee-Sullivan NWS meteorologist Taylor Patterson said.
Air temperatures will climb to between 1 and 3 degrees overnight, with wind chills around -10 to around -16 degrees Wednesday morning.
Wednesday’s high temperatures will be around 22 degrees. By the time we hit Wednesday afternoon and evening, wind chills will be between 8 and 11 degrees.
Overnight Wednesday into Thursday, temps will be in the teens, with wind chills around 2 to 6 degrees. Thursday and Friday are expected to have high temps in the 20s.
Which Milwaukee-area schools and colleges are closed for the cold?
Many schools are closed on Tuesday due to the cold, including Milwaukee Public Schools, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Marquette University.
UW-Milwaukee is canceling all in-person classes, public events and student activities Tuesday, the school announced.
Its Student Union, however, will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. That includes the Food Center and Pantry, as well as UW Credit Union. Residence halls and their dining operations will remain open as well. For UWM off-campus events, people are to contact the event’s sponsoring unit for its status.
While all Marquette classes are canceled Tuesday, the university will be operational with limited on-campus services, the school announced. These areas will remain open — including the Alumni Memorial Union, University Dining Services and the Rec Plex — although hours may be reduced. In general, when classes are canceled for severe weather, most campus events and all student-organized events will be canceled, the university said.
Meanwhile, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is planning to “operate normally” on Tuesday, according to a weather update UW-Madison posted Monday afternoon to X and its Instagram Story.
An extensive list of school closures can be found here.
Extreme cold weather safety tips
The Milwaukee Health Department issued a “cold weather health warning” for Milwaukee County in coordination with the NWS and the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management.
The agencies recommend a series of actions to stay safe in the subzero weather, including:
- Limit time outdoors.
- Dress warmly.
- Monitor for health risks, including symptoms of hypothermia and frostbite.
- Prepare for emergencies by keeping extra supplies in your vehicle and home.
- Only use approved indoor heating devices to avoid fire and carbon-monoxide poisoning risk.
- Ensure pets are inside or in a “sheltered, warm space with access to water.”
- Check in on others.
Individuals in need of public space to stay warm during the day can visit 211’s list of locations in the Greater Milwaukee Area or dial 211. For overnight warming locations, dial 211.
Wisconsin weather warnings
Wisconsin weather radar
Journal Sentinel reporter Hannah Kirby contributed to this report.
I’m Hope Karnopp, and this is the Daily Briefing newsletter by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Sign up here to get it sent to your inbox each morning.
It’s going to be chilly for the Brewers’ home opener today, with temperatures feeling like the mid-30s by first pitch. It should stay dry for Election Day tomorrow, though western parts of the state could see rain and snow. Meteorologists are tracking the potential for more strong storms Wednesday.
Why tomorrow’s election is a referendum on Trump
Wisconsin voters will elect a new Supreme Court justice tomorrow. But the April election is much more than a state-level race — it represents a referendum on President Donald Trump and his first 20 weeks in office, Molly Beck and Daniel Bice report.
Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate, has leaned heavily into Trump’s endorsement and joined him for a “tele-rally.” A spokesman for Susan Crawford, the liberal in the race, said Schimel “resorted to being fully at the mercy of Elon Musk and Donald Trump.”
Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School poll, said Schimel’s strategy has never been tried before in Wisconsin, making it “risky.”
“It probably will mobilize some Trump voters who don’t normally vote in spring elections, but also is likely to mobilize Democrats who are extraordinarily opposed to Trump, but perhaps not otherwise intense about the court race,” Franklin said. “So is mobilization or counter-mobilization the greater effect?”
Can We Energies demand backpay on a faulty meter?
Sharon Saxelby, who is retired and on a fixed income, got a We Energies bill for $926 in January. After calling We Energies three times, she was told she owed nearly $700 in backpay due to a “bill irregularity.” She contacted our Public Investigator team, who looked into the matter.
We Energies discovered in December that the “wrong meter” was installed for Saxelby’s Brookfield condo. That meter had recorded just 75% of the electricity used for “the last few years,” a spokeswoman said. Now, We Energies is demanding Saxelby pay for the additional electricity she used over the past two years because of a state law.
Although Saxelby owns her condo, she doesn’t own or control the electricity meter and says it’s unfair for her to pay for We Energies’ mistake. We Energies says customers should know this is a “a very rare case, and the overwhelming majority of our 2.2 million meters work exactly as they should.”
Gina Lee Castro also breaks down whether back billing is legal, and how a similar situation was resolved in the 1970s.
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Hope Karnopp can be reached at HKarnopp@gannett.com or on X at @hopekarnopp.
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Sarah Cole joined FOX6 WakeUp with what you need to know about Realtors Home and Garden Show, including gardening and green spaces, a raffle, and even puppy cuddles!
MILWAUKEE – Lead is virtually invisible to the naked eye, but its negative impacts are hard to miss. The topic is heavy on the minds of people across Milwaukee amid a string of recent school closures due to unsafe lead levels.
What they’re saying:
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges said lead has been an issue for decades. Now, the group is trying to alleviate the issue right in people’s homes.
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“Lead, as we know, causes so many issues,” said Melody McCurtis, the group’s deputy director. “It messes with our minds, our bodies, and all of those different things.”
Concerns about lead are flowing throughout the city of Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Health Department recently identified seven schools with unsafe lead levels. Three of those schools remain closed for cleanup and renovations.
Lead filter giveaway
Local perspective:
McCurtis said she speaks from experience; she had lead poisoning as a kid. Now, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges is looking to help people lose the lead in their water by filtering it out at home.
“These lead filtration systems will help folks have some type of drinking water at home, where that means is not contamination by lead,” she said.
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On Saturday, the group hosted an event in the Metcalfe Park neighborhood. Roughly 60 people signed up to receive free filters.
“We’ll know that by hooking them up to the kitchen sink that it’s running through, being purified,” neighbor Latisha Bully-White said.
“I think it’s important because it starts off at home,” said neighbor Monifa Johnson.
Lead water filter for Metcalfe Park Community Bridges giveaway
Citywide attention
What’s next:
McCurtis said the decades-long issue needs to come to an end, and they’re pushing the city for long-term solutions while turning to filters for a short-term fix.
“You don’t want lead in the body, lead does not belong in our bodies. We should not be drinking it,” she said.
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges will be going door-to-door, McCurtis said, to get more people to sign up for filtration systems. She said they will get the filters on April 18 and teach people how to use them shortly after.
The Source: FOX6 News interviewed people at Saturday’s lead filter giveaway, and referenced prior coverage of Milwaukee Public Schools lead hazards, for information in this report.
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