Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By MEGAN HUGHES
GOGEBIC RANGE — Frigid weather this week closed all area schools on both Monday and Tuesday, with school officials instead encouraging students to stay home and stay warm.
Only a few schools on Monday already had planned to close for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Marquette National Weather Service reported that the Gogebic-Iron County Airport in Ironwood Township had recorded a wind chill of 50 degrees below zero on Tuesday at 7:56 a.m. Many other areas reported wind chills hovering at 40 degrees below zero.
The Marquette NWS reported a low high of 2 degrees below zero for Monday’s weather in Negaunee, where its post is located, narrowly beating out the prior record of 1 below zero in 1984.
“The arctic air had been moving down over the last four days,” said Tara Dudzik, a meteorologist with the NWS in Negaunee. She said the recent weather was about 20 degrees below normal patterns.
Looking forward, the weather service anticipates temperatures rising to more normal levels.
“Into the weekend, we expect to be back into the 20s, which while still a bit cold, is much closer to our normal,” said Dudzik. “By Saturday, it will be a little bit warmer, in the mid to upper 20s.”
Lake-effect snow is expected to hold off for the rest of the week, according to Dudzik.
“We haven’t been getting much when it comes to snow systems,” she said. “Much of the snow we have been getting is lake effect this year.”
The weather service is predicting this trend will continue for the next several weeks.
When asked if she had any advice for people braving the winter weather, Dudzik advised people be careful.
“Make sure that you have kits in your vehicle that are up to date — survival kits,” said Dudzik, “And try to limit your time outside.”