Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
FINISHING UP the use of a snow blower on his driveway on Tuesday is Jeremy Dahl on Pierce Street in Wakefield. "It's not too bad," he said of the actual aftermath of the area's first storm, which had been predicted to bring as many as 15 inches of snow to the region.
By P.J. GLISSON
The season's first snowstorm at the start of this week did not bring as many inches as anticipated, but it definitely made winter official.
As many as 15 inches were predicted for the western U.P., but the official total for the two-day event measured for National Weather Service at the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Treatment Facility in Ironwood was 4 inches, as of 7 a.m. Tuesday.
That brought the season total to 6.9 inches, compared to 48 inches on the same date last year.
"For the most part, it was a pretty typical lake-effect snow event," said Evan Kutta, a meteorologist with the Marquette station of the NWS. "It's a standard thing at this time of year."
By phone on Tuesday, Kutta said that - even though some areas of the U.P. had lower snow counts than predicted - some places did result with a foot or more on the ground. Melstrand, east of Munising, got up to 21 inches.
"In that area, that snow band was pretty much not moving all day," he said.
According to Kutta, Munising also had wind gusts of up to 45 mph, along with Grand Marais and the Keweenaw.
In general, he said, "The winds were strongest closer to the Lake Superior shoreline."
No matter the location, the winds resulted in a "feels like" temperature that was below zero off and on throughout the storm.
Kutta said the storm also had an effect on the roads. "Travel was definitely treacherous," he said, adding that the drifting snow was a contributing issue.
Regarding the start of the storm source, Kutta said, "There was a low-pressure system that spun up into the Hudson Bay area."
Not all results were crystal clear, he said.
"We've been unable to verify Wakefield," said Kutta. "We had heard that there might be 10 or 12 inches."
In relation to the season overall, he said, "We're off to a pretty slow start."
Seasonal predictions indicate an El Nino trend. "That generally aims to favor a drier, warmer winter with below normal precipitation and less lake-effect snow than usual," said Kutta.
The NWS report for Ironwood noted that 0.3 inches of snow fell between Nov. 22 and Sunday.
The 4.0 inches of snow reported in Ironwood was a total of 1.0 inch measured on Monday at 7 a.m. and 3.0 inches measured Tuesday at 7 a.m. The low temperature for Ironwood overnight into Monday morning was 11 degrees and 5 degrees overnight into Tuesday.
An additional 0.4 inches of snow in the 24-hour period up to 7 a.m. on Wednesday brought the seasonal snow total to 7.3 inches, and 5.5 inches for the month of November. Wednesday's report also indicated 4.0 inches of snow on the ground.
Last year, the season snow total on Nov. 30 was 58.3 inches, thanks to 10.3 inches that fell overnight the night before.
As for this year, 7.3 inches hasn't added up to enough for any of the region's ski hills to be open yet. Mt. Zion Ski Area at Gogebic Community College in Ironwood is the only one to post an official opening date - Dec. 22.
Before then, Mt. Zion has plans to host a national snocross race on Dec. 15-16.
Big Powderhorn Mountain in Bessemer Township has announced that it now has the newest state-of the-art Italian snowguns, along with new lodging options in tiny homes.
Snowriver Mountain Resort, located in both Wakefield and Bessemer townships, has its new 6-pack ski lift, dubbed the Voyageur Express, ready to go, along with ongoing resort upgrades that amount to millions of dollars.
Whitecap Mountains in Upson, Wisconsin, is boasting several new ski runs and a new Magic Carpet system in the beginner area.
The Porcupine Mountains Winter Sports Complex in Ontonagon, which touts a natural experience with no manufactured snow, does not expect to open till closer to the end of the year.
Adventure Mountain, also known as the Greenland Ski Hill in Greenland, is a smaller, family-friendly hill for skiing, snowboarding and sledding. The complex, which also includes a skating rink and canteen, also has not posted an opening date.
The NWS operates under the umbrella of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, which in turn is under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The U.S. Department of Commerce operates NOAA.
