Midwest Winter Storm Smashed Snow Records In Wisconsin, With Blizzard Conditions From Minnesota To Michigan
Midwest Winter Storm Smashed Snow Records In Wisconsin, With Blizzard Conditions From Minnesota To Michigan
Jonathan Erdman Mon, March 16, 2026 at 1:41 PM UTC
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A major winter storm is hammering the upper Midwest with blizzard conditions and dangerous travel from Minnesota and Iowa to northern Michigan, and has even set at least one all-time snowfall record in parts of Wisconsin.
This has been named Winter Storm Iona by The Weather Channel.
Latest Storm Reports
As expected, this winter storm has already generated prolific snow totals in parts of the Midwest.
Areas in the red dots in the map below, from extreme southeast Minnesota into central and northeastern Wisconsin into parts of the eastern Upper Peninsula and extreme northern Lower Michigan have picked up at least 20 inches of snow, so far.
The town of Mountain, Wisconsin, reported 34 inches of snow, so far, while two other locations in Michigan's western Upper Peninsula reported 30 to 31 inches of snowfall.
Wausau, Wisconsin, already smashed its all-time record snowiest single day in 130 years Sunday, with 23.4 inches measured, according to the National Weather Service. That's almost three times their March monthly average and over a third of their yearly average in one storm. While not a record, Sunday was also Green Bay's snowiest single day — 17.1 inches — in 137 years, since Jan. 9, 1889.
Iona likely smashed many other 2- or 3-day snowstorm records in that 20-inch-plus swath mentioned above, including in Wisconsin's Door County Peninsula, where storm totals from 27 to 33 inches have been reported.
Elsewhere, Minneapolis-St. Paul (airport location) picked up 8.8 inches of snow, while Green Bay has measured 22.9 inches, so far.
NOAA/NWS
Blizzard conditions have been reported from Minnesota and Iowa to Wisconsin and northern Michigan.
Sections of Interstates 90 and 35 have been shut down in southwest Minnesota and northern Iowa, while travel is not advised on many roads in eastern, northeastern and western Wisconsin, including stretches of Interstates 41 and 43 in the Fox Valley.
Happening Now
The radar below shows where snow continues in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.
There's even a stubborn pocket of freezing rain in parts of northern Lower Michigan, where tree damage and power outages have been reported from Cadillac to Alpena, Michigan.
Alerts
Below are the latest winter weather alerts. Areas shaded in pink are in blizzard warnings, where travel is not recommended.
Forecast
Timing
Monday, the strong low will shove the cold front rapidly into the East, but snow will last through the afternoon in much of the western Great Lakes before tapering off Monday night.
Precipitation may change from rain to a quick burst of snow in the Ohio Valley and Appalachians. Along much of the East Coast, this will be a rain event, with strong to severe thunderstorms packing damaging winds possible from parts of the Northeast to the Carolinas.
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(MORE: Severe Thunderstorms Forecast From The Mid-Mississippi Valley To The East)
Strong winds are expected to persist in much of the Midwest and East into Monday, especially near the Great Lakes and along the immediate East Coast.
Monday's Forecast
How Much More Snow
The heaviest additional snow accumulations Monday ware expected where some lake enhancement may occur in both the Upper Peninsula and parts of western Lower Michigan.
However, lingering strong winds combined with snow and/or ice accumulations could lead to additional tree damage and power outages. Travel will remain treacherous, if not impossible, in the hardest-hit parts of the western Great Lakes. Postpone travel Monday in central and southern Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Michigan.
We don't expect significant snowfall in the Northeast from this winter storm. Rain will be the dominant precipitation type and dry air aloft should minimize any wrap-around heavy snow chances, except for a few areas in the Appalachians and Adirondacks of upstate New York.
Snowfall ForecastCold, For A While
Forecast Low-lights
The blizzard is pulling a fresh supply of cold air from Canada that will have staying power for some early this week.
Monday, that cold air will have reached the northern Gulf Coast. Tuesday, that cold air will have swept through the East, including Florida.
Monday, highs will be stuck in the teens, 20s and 30s in much of the Midwest. St. Patrick's Day will be in the 20s and 30s in most of the Northeast and Midwest, while the Southeast shivers in the 40s and 50s, for the most part.
Some subzero lows are possible in parts of North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula Tuesday morning. Much of the Deep South, including parts of far northern Florida, is forecast to dip below the freezing mark Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
Some daily record lows and cold highs could be threatened, especially in the Deep South, where a frost could make it as far south as Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans. Highs struggling to reach the low 60s in central Florida could be their coldest St. Patrick's Day highs on record.
(MAPS: 10-Day US Forecast Highs/Lows)
How Long Will It Last?
If you've had enough of winter weather, especially following the recent warmth, we do have some good news.
Warmer air should work its way eastward in the Plains by the middle of the week, then may ooze a bit farther east later in the week.
However, computer models suggest some chillier air may spill back into parts of the Midwest and Northeast in two rounds this weekend, then again next week.
So goes, March, right?
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
