Near whiteout conditions, ice plague area highways

39 MINUTES AGO  •  BILL NOVAK | MADISON.COM | BNOVAK@MADISON.COM | 608-252-6483

Strong winds are whipping snow into a frenzy in Dane County and south central Wisconsin, causing near whiteout conditions and icy pavement.

A dispatcher at the Dane County 911 Center told Madison.com the blowing snow is making driving difficult.

"It's blowing pretty good," the dispatcher said.

Winds were strong enough to take a prefabricated house off a flatbed trailer heading east on Highway 18/151 near Blue Mounds and depositing the house, upright, in the westbound lanes.

The State Traffic Operations Center said the "house in road" incident happened about 9 a.m. The house was removed from the highway lane by 10:15 a.m. but was still alongside the roadway.

The State Patrol told Madison.com Interstate 39/90/94 north of Madison was starting to ice up because of the blowing snow.

"We have a couple of vehicles in ditches," a dispatcher said.

The state road conditions map  shows many stretches of snow-covered or slippery highways all across the state, so drivers are advised to take it easy on the road.