Snow Plowing Update: March 15, 2026

Bottom Line

Get ready for a tough Monday morning commute, and difficult conditions tonight. Expect heavy, wet snow along with 40 MPH wind gusts. Streets Division plows will be out, but conditions will be challenging. Use caution.

What's the weather doing?

Today's rain will switch to snow sometime tonight. The exact timing of the change depends on the forecast with some calling on it to occur closer to dinner time with others showing it happening later in the evening.

During the evening hours, forecasts show high winds with gusts around 40 MPH. 

This snow will have a lot of moisture, making it very dense, heavy, and wet. 

Snow will continue to fall throughout the night and through the morning commute.

Snow accumulation totals are still uncertain.

What's the Streets Division doing?

Streets Division plows will be on the salt routes when rain changes to snow.

Crews will be cycling through these routes all through the night and morning plowing and applying salt as needed. The "salt routes" are the roughly 800 miles of traffic lanes that make up the main thoroughfares of Madison. These are the roads used by Madison Metro for bus routes as well as other important Madison streets, such as the roads around hospitals and public schools. 

During the overnight hours when high winds are expected, there will be additional staff on duty to help address any potential blowing or drifting issues. 

What you should expect 

Travel in Madison will be difficult tonight (3/15) and tomorrow (3/16) due to the storm. 

All paved surfaces will be slippery while this heavy, wet snow melts as fresh snow continues to fall and stack up. 

The high winds could impact visibility, particularly on roads along open areas like farm fields.  

If you need to travel during the storm, please make good choices. Be slow. Be patient. Give yourself ample travel time to arrive at your destinations on time.

Also, considering how heavy this snow will be, please be careful as you are clearing your sidewalks and driveways. 

How to Help the Snowplows

Do not put the trash and recycling carts in the road for pickup. They obstruct snowplows.

If possible, please choose off-street parking options and follow all parking restrictions.

Will the Streets Division plow every street in response to this storm?

The Streets Division plows every street in Madison, including the low traffic residential areas, when there is three or more inches of snow accumulated on the roads and the storm is at or near its end.

As of the publication of this update (shortly after 9am on Sunday, 3/15) it is unknown if all streets will need to be plowed sometime on Monday following the storm.

We still don't know yet how much snow we will receive. Snow totals forecast for us still have a wide range of possible outcomes.

When the snow falls tonight, some of it will melt because our ground temperatures are so warm.

If a citywide plowing operation proves necessary, we will announce it in a future update. 

Monitoring Conditions & Future Updates

Streets Division staff will be monitoring the roads and the weather. 

Future updates will be provided as conditions require.