MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee city leaders pushed a united message ahead of a winter storm threatening to bring a combination of dangerous conditions during the holiday weekend.
"For your sake and your own safety, we recommend that you don't travel if you do not need to travel," Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson stressed.
Meteorologists report that the impending storm will bring snow, strong winds, and brutally cold temperatures.
Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW) commissioner Jerrel Kruschke was firm that despite being short staffed they have crews ready to keep streets passable. This year, DPW will try a new approach to get to residential streets sooner.
Overall, high winds are DPW's biggest concern ahead of the storm.
"We have 7,000 lane miles that DPW addresses. We're going to get to every street so please be patient, drive slow, and take your time," Kruschke said.
DPW crews began pre-salting streets at noon on Wednesday. Kruschke warned that snow and ice operations may cause delays in garbage and recycling pickup.
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Firefighters and WE Energies anticipate issues with trees and power lines. WE Energies pressed residents experiencing a power outage to report it.
"We made sure that all available crews from we energies and our contract crews will be working through the week through Thursday through Friday. Certainly, some planned vacations were canceled because of this storm. We've also put out a request for mutual aid assistance," said Brendan Conway, spokesperson for WE Energies.
People are urged to clear snow around garbage carts, follow parking regulations, charge their electronics now, and check on neighbors. Make sure they can safely stay warm.
"Spread that holiday spirit that we know that we all talk about. It's time to do that thing right now. Check-in on the people who you know, you should be checking in on," said MFD Assistant Chief Joshua Parrish.
