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But when will it end? Update on the latest bout of miserable snow

JANESVILLE — By conservative estimates, this winter has lasted for 12 years.

Or at least it feels that way.

South Central Wisconsin residents woke up Friday morning to yet another winter wonderland.

Commuters were irritated.

Good Friday churchgoers were annoyed.

And at the newspaper, editors huddled in their lairs wondering how they could produce another weather story.

They couldn’t think of anything, so they told the first reporter they made eye contact with to write a newsworthy and useful weather story.

Here then, is a story to answer all of readers’ weather-related concerns in simple terms even an editor could understand—well, you might have to sound out the big words.

When will it ever end?

According to a variety of meteorological sources, the weather will be lousy this weekend, and then we’ll see a gradual warming trend next week, about the time all your friends come back from their spring break trips to Florida.

More specifically, Saturday’s temperature will range from 22 degrees to 36 degrees with sunny intervals. Don’t get out the sun block.

Sunday, look for a little more snow and a demoralizing number of clouds.

Has this been the longest winter in human history?

No.

In fact, it’s not unusual to get a late March snowstorm, said Steve Davis, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sullivan.

“When the spring-summer season is trying to beat winter out of the way, you get a clash of airmasses,” Davis said. “You still have the cold air in Canada and warm air from the southern parts of the states.”

That guy’s a meteorologist. Can we trust him?

Yes. Davis is from Milton, and that makes him one of us. The man feels our pain.

Any disasters on Interstate 90/39?

No, just run offs, according to Sgt. Shelly Hutter of the Wisconsin State Patrol’s southwest office.

Although the pavement looks wet, icy spots are common, so people should use care.

How come the roads were so bad Friday morning?

“We had some nice sunny weather,” explained Davis. “The pavement had warmed up, but the air temperatures were freezing.”

As a result, the snow hit the pavement, melted and froze.

By 11 a.m. Friday, stretches of Highway 51 between Janesville and Edgerton were like the sheets of ice used for curling.

Davis reported that his drive up Highway 59 to Sullivan was one of his worst commutes of the season.

I didn’t see that many accidents in the city. Have people finally learned to drive in snow?

Maybe. Or maybe not.

Janesville Police Sgt. Kay Nikolaus came into work early, expecting a busy day.

“It hasn’t been bad at all,” Nikolaus said.

Other local law enforcement officals echoed her sentiments.

“We had a number of run offs,” said Sgt. Ken Marquardt of the Rock County Sheriff’s Department. “But not as many as we usually would.”

Both officers speculated that spring break and Good Friday meant that fewer motorists were on the road.