April snow and cold tend to get an eye roll when they show up in the weather forecast. Pause for a second and consider a major late-season snowstorm. It's enough April snow to cripple traffic, close schools and even delay the Milwaukee Brewers from kicking off their season at home. Well that did happen on April 9, 1973. A late-season storm system would bring more than a foot of snow to the Milwaukee area in mid-April.
Mike Gliszinski jogged our memories when he sent an email to Storm Team 4. He told us that he remembered that day because "he dealt with the snow and it crippled the city."
And after posting about this day in weather history, it turns out Mike isn't the only one who remembers this snowstorm. We received hundreds of comments on Facebook with folks remembering trudging through the snow, being stuck at school or just helping neighbors in need.
We went back to the WTMJ-TV archive and found footage on tape from April 12. Our partners at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee digitized the footage so we could share it all these years later.
Between the time snow began falling on April 8 and ending on April 12, Milwaukee's Mitchell Airport picked up 15.7 inches of snow. On April 9, 11.6 inches of snow was recorded at the airport. It was the second-highest 24-hour April snow total in Milwaukee going all the way back to 1877.
So much snow fell that Milwaukee County Stadium couldn't be cleared in time to host the Brewers 1973 home opener. The game was delayed, but the Brewers won 2-0 against the Baltimore Orioles on April 13.
We remembered this event thanks to an email from a viewer just like YOU! Let's talk weather - share your photos, reports and weather memories with Storm Team 4. Send an email to weatherteam@tmj4.com
