Ice storm warning canceled; flood watch still on, dense fog advisory as well

With less freezing rain expected and temperatures a little warmer than forecast, the ice storm warning for freezing rain that was supposed to hit counties north of Madison has been canceled.

The National Weather Service said that doesn’t mean conditions are all clear, since there’s still the potential for freezing rain, and even a little ice on roads can cause peril, so keep up with changing forecasts Monday night into Tuesday.

About two dozen school districts and private schools were closing early on Monday, along with the cancellation of evening events. A list can be found at Channel3000.com.

A dense fog advisory was issued at 1 p.m. and will continue until 6 a.m. Tuesday, for the southern two tiers of counties in Wisconsin, including Dane County.

A warm front moving up through Wisconsin is causing the fog, with visibility dropping to less than a quarter-mile at times. Fog could lift during rain, and fog is more likely in low-lying areas.

The ice storm warning was replaced with a winter weather advisory, because there still are chances for freezing rain developing Monday evening into Tuesday, along and north of a line from Sauk to Fond du Lac counties.

The amount of ice that could develop could be up to a quarter-inch, which could cause difficult driving and walking conditions. The Weather Service said most of the freezing rain will fall between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. Tuesday.

A flood watch continues in parts of south-central and all of southeast Wisconsin, with up to 2 inches of rain possible in the far southeast corner of the state.

Since the ground is frozen, rainwater could build up on roads and low-lying areas, and water could overflow creeks and some rivers.

Everything should wind down by Tuesday night.

The day-to-day outlook from Wednesday on:

• Wednesday: Mostly sunny, high near 28.
• Wednesday night: Partly cloudy, low around 17.
• Thursday: A 20 percent chance of snow after 1 p.m., high near 34.
• Thursday night: A 40 percent chance of snow, mainly after 7 p.m., low around 25.
• Friday: A 40 percent chance of snow before noon, then rain and snow between noon and 1 p.m., then rain after 1 p.m., high near 39.
• Friday night: A 20 percent chance of rain before 7 p.m., then rain and snow between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., then snow after 9 p.m., low around 25.
• Saturday: A 20 percent chance of snow, high near 41.
• Saturday night: A 50 percent chance of rain and snow, low around 28.
• Sunday: A 50 percent chance of snow, high near 41.

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911 dispatcher killed in suspected drunk driving crash involving church pastor

Jenna Bixby was killed Saturday night after her car was struck by a wrong-way driver.

 (Nikki Orlicki/Fox 9)

A Minneapolis 911 dispatcher who worked “day-and-night to keep people safe” was tragically killed over the weekend after her car was struck by a church pastor who was driving the wrong way and is believed to have been drinking, police say.

Jenna Bixby, 30, was killed around 8 p.m. while heading to her job Saturday night on Highway 252 in Brooklyn Park.

“We just want to know why,” her sister, Nikki Orlicki, told FOX9. “We don’t understand. Why her? She was going to work to save people, and somebody decided to take her life and didn’t care.”

Authorities said Bixby’s car was hit head on by an SUV driven by Richard J. Shaka, a retired 72-year-old minister from Blaine, and alcohol is suspected to have been a factor. Bixby was pronounced dead at the scene while Shaka was in critical condition Sunday at a local hospital. No charges have been announced yet in the case.

“Minneapolis’ Emergency Communications staff work day-and-night to keep people safe. As a 911 Dispatcher, that’s what Jenna Bixby did for years – and what she was on her way to do at City Hall when her life was tragically taken late last night,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey “My thoughts are with her family, friends, neighbors and all of her colleagues in City Hall who are mourning her loss. She was an extraordinary person.”

Bixby started working with Minneapolis emergency communications nearly four years ago and helped train new members, the Star Tribune reported.

“Please know that I never stopped loving you with all my heart, and I will never stop loving you,” her husband Daniel wrote on Facebook Sunday morning, according to the newspaper.

Shaka was the founder of the All Nations Christian Assembly in North East Minneapolis, where he served as a pastor for 17 years.

“Our mission is to reach all the nations in the Twin Cities and the metropolitan in MN and the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ through missions, Evangelism and the proclamation of the Gospel,” the Assembly, which describes itself as an “international Bible believing church,” says on its website.

Shaka also taught at North Central University’s Bible and Theology Department from 1996 to 2011, and started a Twin Cities nonprofit group that builds orphanages and youth facilities in Sierra Leone, his home country, the Star Tribune reported.

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