Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RALPH ANSAMI
Ironwood — Ironwood was spared the brunt of the winter blast that socked much of Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula Monday.
The weather station at the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Treatment Plant off U.S. 2 received just 3 inches of snow for the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Elsewhere, winter storm warnings and advisories remained in effect until noon Tuesday, as some areas had previously received more than a foot of snow.
The National Weather Service office in Duluth said a weather front, combined with lake effect snow, resulted in an initial 7 to 8 inches for much of the region and an additional 2 to 4 inches on Tuesday.
The NWS reported from Sunday morning through 6 a.m. Tuesday, the Duluth airport received around 10 inches of snow.
Roadways continued to be snow-covered and slippery throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The snow was icy in Ironwood, as .28 inch of precipitation was recorded for the 24-hour period. That brought Ironwood’s February snow total to only 8.7 inches, well below the long-term monthly average through Feb. 20 of 21 inches.
Nineteen inches was the on the ground total.
Ironwood’s winter snow total stood at 122.2 inches.
It’s been a cold February on top of a frigid winter. The average temperature for the month of 6.9 degrees is well below the 118-year average of 13.8 degrees.
Many students received a four-day weekend because the schools were also closed on Monday for Presidents Day.
Some of the schools that were closed Tuesday included Watersmeet, Ashland, Bayfield, Maple-Northwestern, South Shore and Washburn, in addition to many in Minnesota and southern Wisconsin.