GRAND CHUTE, Wis. (WBAY) – Wisconsin is experiencing a winter storm as almost 1.5 million Wisconsinites are expected to travel this holiday week.

Wednesday is one of the busiest travel days of the year. AAA expects highways to be the busiest in the afternoon — all afternoon.

“We’re looking at 11 to 8 pm, so that entire afternoon stretch from around lunchtime to even after dinner time is when we’re expecting the critical mass of people to be out on the roads, so if you can leave safely before that, that’s the better option,” AAA Director of Public Affairs Nick Jarmusz said.

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Police remind drivers of the “If you can steer it, clear it” law. If you’re in a collision and your vehicle is still operable, move it out of traffic.

Jarmusz also says over 140,000 Wisconsinites are expected to fly to their destinations for Thanksgiving.

At the time of this writing Wednesday morning, the majority of departures in Green Bay, Appleton, Milwaukee and Chicago O’Hare were on-time.

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Slender Man stabbing defendant Morgan Geyser will be returned to Wisconsin after her arrest in Illinois over the weekend for escaping from a Madison group home.

Geyser appeared in a Posen, Illinois, courtroom on Nov. 25, waiving her right to an extradition hearing and clearing the way for her to soon be returned to Wisconsin.

It’s not clear exactly when she will be back in the state.

Luciano Panici, the Illinois circuit court judge presiding over the hearing, indicated Wisconsin officials have 30 days to transport her and expressed the hope the task would be completed sooner.

Geyser’s court appearance follows a 24-hour search that began when the 23-year-old escaped from a Madison group home.

Geyser and Chad “Charly” Mecca, 43, were arrested at an Illinois truck stop on Nov. 23 after authorities say Geyser cut off her ankle monitor and left the Madison group home, YoYo Quality Care.

Geyser and co-defendant Anissa Weier were charged in 2014 with the attempted killing of their friend and classmate, Payton Leutner. Geyser stabbed Leutner stabbed 19 times.

All three girls were 12 years old at the time.

Geyser and Weier said they believed they were carrying out the bidding of Slender Man, a fictional online character.

They were found not guilty by reason of mental defect or disease in 2017 and sentenced to mental confinement, Weier for 25 years, and Geyser for 40 years.

While Wisconsin’s Northwoods struggled to find winter last year, one area made its own. At Mt. Telemark Village in Cable, winter didn’t stop.

“It was difficult in the Northwoods,” said Ben Popp. “But you know, we were fortunate enough last year, because of our snowmaking and some of this infrastructure, we were able to host all of our events.”

That ability to make winter happen is exactly why the American Birkebeiner Foundation invested in Telemark after the 2017 Birkie was canceled for a lack of snow.

“People would have thought you’re crazy. Northern Wisconsin, you’re going to make snow? But at the end of the day, the events are so important to our local economy and our mission that we decided to make the investment in snow making,” said Popp.

Now, the village is home to trails for skiing, snowshoeing, biking, and an ever-growing lineup of winter events that draw thousands to Cable and Hayward. It’s all powered by an $11 million community-backed project.

“It took 2,500 individual donors that came together to really support the idea of creating outdoor recreation here in northern Wisconsin,” Popp added.

But convincing winter to cooperate is still a strategic operation.

“We need a lot of snow in a lot of different places this year to ensure that we have snow that will last all through March this year. So it’s a lot of pre-planning to determine where should we be putting guns? Where should we making these big piles?” said Kristy Maki.

Telemark’s snow guns fired up last week in time for early season skiing, and the annual Turkey Birkie.

Once January arrives, the calendar doesn’t slow down. Fat bikes camps, classic ski races and women’s clinics all depend on reliable snow.

“Even if we can’t hold races because of the natural snow level, we know that we can put something on here,” said Maki.

Reliability that is crucial not just for athletes but for the economy that surrounds the trails.

“It brings people from the Twin Cities, Wausau, Eau Claire, Chicago,” said Popp. “It really is the centerpiece of our economy.”

As cooler temperatures begin to take hold in the Northwoods, they’ll continue making snow at Mt. Telemark Village, while holding out hope for a nice blanket of the real stuff.