Cold to follow storm

By TOM LAVENTURE

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Ironwood - Constant snow and freezing road surfaces resulted in area school closings and event cancellations around the region on Monday, as weather forecasters said to look for more snow and a cold front this week.

As much as 5 to 8 inches of snow fell on the western Upper Peninsula and northeast Wisconsin, with the forecasts for continued snow showers through Wednesday, said Jacob Horton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Marquette. The Weather Service said at 7:20 p.m. a public report of 7.7 inches of snow was reported about a mile west of Ironwood.

The high today should reach 4 degrees with a wind chill value of minus 10 to 15 degrees, followed by a low of minus 9 degrees overnight into Wednesday when temperatures should reach 1 degree with a minus 8 degree low and wind chill values of minus 15 to minus 25 degrees.

The first story is the lake-effect snow with this system that will continue to accumulate through Wednesday, Horton said. The second story is the Arctic air mass moving in that will bring below zero temperatures and lower wind chill values, he said.

"Once this system moves through things will turn colder and windier which will help drive out the lake-effect snow to bring in single digit highs and below zero lows," Horton said. "Then, after brief cold spell, things should go back to about average with the chance of snow showers."

As the temperatures get back into the teens and twenties there is a chance for more snow, he said.

There is a 30% chance of snow Thursday with the high around 17 degrees and a low of around 12 degrees. There is also a chance of snow Friday, with a high near 30 degrees and a low around 23 degrees.

There is the possibility of snow on Saturday with the high near 28 degrees and the low around 17 degrees. There is also a chance of snow Sunday with a high near 21 degrees.

The National Weather Service in Marquette issued a snow storm warning Monday with hazardous weather outlook all week for the western U.P. Areas schools in Gogebic and Ontonagon counties were closed along with several northern Wisconsin schools including Hurley, Mercer and Mellen.

As of 4 p.m. Tuesday the Gogebic County Sheriff's Department had just one car crash call on Moore Street and U.S. 2 in Bessemer, according to Deputy Haley Koster. She said the roads were icy but there hadn't been many accidents.

Bob Richards, supervisor of Ironwood Department of Public Works, spoke to the Ironwood City Commission on Monday about the city's snow removal program. He said that approximately 14 snow removal staff work very hard clearing 66 miles of roads along with alleys, sidewalks and five parking lots.

"These guys do a really good job," Richards said.

The most difficult thing with snow removal is that everything is covered up and the drivers sometimes encounter things they can't see under the snow, he said. A logging chain was pulled out of a auger just before it could have ruined the blower, and a driver struck a vehicle that was completely buried in a snowbank, he said.

The public should take care to move trash cans back three feet from the snow banks, Richards said. What happens often is the plow buries the trash container or pushes it further down the street or the snow blower destroys it, he said.

Other issues are with drivers tailgating the plows, loaders and graders, he said. When it's snowing there is no way they can see what is behind them, he said.

"Plow drivers have to back out frequently," Richards said. "This is hazardous to the plow driver and to the person in the other vehicle as well."

Some residents like to park their cars in such a way as to try and prevent the plows from pushing snow in front of a driveway, he said. This can get the car buried and keeps the plows from moving in a straight line and creating more work later, he said.

Privately owned plow trucks sometimes push snow back onto public roads and sidewalks which creates more work for the plows and blowers, he said.