Season’s first major snowstorm brings power outages, flooding

OCONTO — Thousands of customers lost electricity Sunday – and some were still waiting Monday morning – as the first major snowstorm of the season brought 6-8 inches or more of wet, heavy snow to Oconto County.

The Oconto Electric Cooperative’s Brookside substation failed after a tree fell on the lines, knocking out power for much of Sunday afternoon. Areas listed as having hundreds of Wisconsin Public Service customers experiencing outages included Suring, Abrams, Sobieski, Oconto and Lakewood.

About 170 customers scattered across the county still had no power Monday morning.

The strong northeasterly winds added to the high-water worries that plagued the Oconto County bay shore throughout the Thanksgiving weekend.

The city of Oconto declared a snow emergency and closed Harbor Road, the Splinter Causeway at Breakwater Park and Bay Shore Road to traffic as the waters of Green Bay spilled across the roadways.

The road to the causeway had been flooded out Wednesday, Nov. 27, and high water also closed County Road Y north of Harbor Road for much of the day. The area was hit even harder Sunday afternoon, and city officials encouraged residents living by the bay shore to consider evacuation until the storm subsided.

The Oconto Utility Wastewater Treatment Plant was over capacity because of the unprecedented water levels, and the city asked residents to minimize the use of water as much as possible, including toilet flushing, for most of Sunday. The notice included the towns of Oconto, Pensaukee and Little River.