Snow emergencies, school closures, weather pics and more    

Channel3000.com and News 3 have up-to-the-minute closures and weather advisory information for area communities.

Find:

• The weather announcements page will be updated as notices happen, including area event closures and snow emergency declarations by municipality
• School closure listing (which clears daily at 10 a.m.)
• Live snowstorm blog and photos

Snow-covered ground helps biologists to tally in chronic wasting disease zones    

Helicopter teams will conduct aerial deer counts throughout Dane and Iowa counties and near Baraboo from Wednesday through mid-February, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

DNR biologists are conducting aerial deer counts in portions of the chronic wasting disease management zone.

Regional spokesman Bob Manwell in Fitchburg said in a news release Wednesday that completion of the deer count operation is dependent on the presence of several inches of snow, which helps deer stand out on the landscape from the air.

Areas in western Dane and eastern Iowa counties and in the Baraboo area by Devil’s Lake State Park are scheduled for survey flights, officials said.

The DNR said about 260 square mile sections will be surveyed.

Spring-like weather is in southern Wisconsin with temperatures forecasted to be in the 60s and 70s all this week.

While most might feel the warming weather is a chance to head outdoors, it also means big business for some.

Like nature's springtime call, the phones chirp away at Middleton's Pleasant View Golf Club.

"We have a few twosomes that are booking up, and obviously more phone calls are coming in," said Pleasant View assistant pro Jeremy Cabalka.

With the course opening on Tuesday, Cabalka said players are itching to tee off.

"Our numbers obviously drop in the fall because people are golfed out. And then once spring comes, boy, do they get that itch back. There's definitely a buzz going on around the golf industry, you can see other courses opening up as well," Cabalka said.

But snow removal companies, like Barnes, have been in the red this winter.