Wacky winter weather brings enjoyment and planning

BROWN COUNTY - From dense fog and warmer temperatures to Winter Storm Denise, Northeast Wisconsin has been seeing a lot of what Mother Nature has to offer. It has people both enjoying and preparing for the weather.

If the temperature is more than 30 degrees in winter, you can find St. Norbert senior David Prosper in a pair of shorts.

“Oh I definitely love it,” said Prosper. “I'm originally from Florida, so got used to the weather and now its nice and warm so you can definitely wear shorts out.”

With temperatures reading about 50 degrees, members of the school's track and field team were also sporting the January fashion trend.

“That's what's kind of nice about today,” said Hayden Hoffmann, a sophomore at St. Norbert. “We usually wear running tights, running pants, sweatshirts and under armor, stuff like that just to keep us warm.”

They'll likely need to dig that type of apparel back out as Winter Storm Denise could bring five to eight inches of snow to the area.

As soon as the storm arrives, Brown County's highway department will mobilize its full crew of 42 trucks and 12 graders.

“We'll wait until the last minute possible before we bring our crews in, so we can cover both the morning and afternoon rush hour traffic,” said Robert Bousley, the operations manager for Brown County Public Works.

Officials with Green Bay's Public Works say their plan for Winter Storm Denise hinges on if and how much rain comes ahead of the snow. Their plan is similar to Brown County's.

“Depending on what it does, if its freezing rain or snow, we'll either put down a lot of salt and then go back and plow or we'll plow and then put down salt,” said Hoffmann.

Highway department officials say they'll be ready for whatever the weather brings. It's a lesson Wisconsin transplants like Prosper are quick to learn.

“This weather changes all the time, so always got to be prepared,” said Prosper.