WisDOT Urges Motorists to Stay Home as Blizzard Batters Northwest Roads

All lanes of Interstate 94 in Jackson County sat blocked in both directions as a blizzard swept across northwest Wisconsin on March 15, with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation urging drivers statewide to stay home and restrict any movement to emergencies only.

The closures hardened throughout the day. By 11:30 a.m., WisDOT was advising against all travel in the northwest region, where highways were partially or fully buried. By 2:30 p.m., the department had expanded its warning to cover a majority of the state, citing heavy snowfall, whiteout visibility, dangerously high winds, and blowing and drifting snow as the primary hazards grinding roads to a halt.

Jackson County bore the most severe infrastructure impact. "All lanes of east- and westbound Interstate 94 in Jackson County are blocked, and many alternate routes are also impassable," the WisDOT press release stated. Reporting from Northern News Now added that a full closure stretched along I-94 westbound between mile markers 88 and 105, with no passable detours in many sections.

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning covering all 20 counties in the Northwest Region, extending the alert into Monday. In the North Central region, WisDOT reported that all highways were covered with snow or impassable, with travel limited to emergencies only. Conditions were expected to deteriorate further in southern counties as the storm pushed through Sunday.

Snowplow crews struggled to keep pace with the accumulation. Heavy snow, blowing winds, and poor visibility made sustained maintenance operations difficult, and some counties pulled plows entirely from secondary routes, suspending winter maintenance on those roads to redirect resources to primary corridors.

Sustained winds compounded the danger for commercial traffic. WisDOT warned that high-profile vehicles such as trucks faced elevated risk of losing control or tipping over, and advised all drivers to maintain a safe following distance when traveling near larger vehicles.

For anyone who could not avoid travel, WisDOT's press release was direct: "If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle." The department's stranded-motorist guidance, relayed by WDIO, advised staying calm and remaining buckled inside the vehicle, calling 911 if possible, turning on hazard lights, and resisting the urge to leave the vehicle or attempt to push it free. If heat became necessary, WisDOT said to run the engine for short periods only, verifying first that the exhaust pipe was clear of snow.

Current road conditions and live traffic camera feeds remained available through 511wi.gov and the 511 Wisconsin app throughout the storm.