Holy Moly, in the past week, we’ve gotten 56 inches of snow here in the Keweenaw. I’m not sure what the total is for the Deer Lake area in Ishpeming, where Aladino Mandoli and his wife, Connie live, but you can see in the first two photos that they had plenty on the day he snapped them. They were really pounded with snow and had to dig out of the house, down the steps and out to where the snowblower is kept. Then after getting the driveway path started, the big guns came out to finish it up...the 4 wheeler with tracks and plow!

The next three shots come to us from Laurium, snapped by Judy Byykkonen, who is actually Aladino’s Aunty, so today’s photos are a family affair of sorts. Judy took these photos during the storm, looking out her window at Lake Linden Avenue and then a couple shots of the snow piled up on her deck and table there. I’m sure Judy must have had to go out there and clear a path for her “girls” to go outside for potty breaks. In her video, you can see the path she made for the girl’s with her snowblower and that’s Zelda in the midst of the snow and wind, looking like she doesn’t mind the weather at all!

Hi
If any area of Michigan is going to get back on
track for average snowfall totals, it'll be you
guys.

Currently, down in Jackson, MI we have around 4
inches of snow. And, rarity of rarities, we had
sunshine this past weekend, so I had a lovely time
cross-country skiing. Well, a bit sad, because the
snow is going away. Starting tonight we are
supposed to get freezing rain followed by rain.
All of the driving issues, none of the
recreational possibilities.

WOW! The snow is making up for lost time. Good. I
hope the Harbor is humming with snowmobiles.

And I LOVE Judy's star hanging in the window. That
is so cool!

Surprising facts about snow:

1. Snow is not white! It’s translucent. The reason
snow appears white is because of the light
reflecting off the sides of the snowflake,
diffusing the color spectrum.

2. Snow can also appear orange, yellow, pink,
green and even purple. While technically
colorless, snow may contain dust or algae that
give it different colors. Orange snow fell over
Siberia in 2007 and pink snow (watermelon snow)
covered Krasnodar (Russia) in 2010.
Watermelon snow is common in mountains and has a
sweet smell and taste. However, it frequently
contains nasty algae that will make you sick so
don’t eat it!

3. A single snowstorm can drop 39 million tons of
snow, carrying the energy equivalent to 120 atom
bombs!

4. We’ve often heard that native Alaskans have
many words for “snow” though linguists have now
studied this and question how this is decided
(getting into details such as “root words” and
definitions of “snow” versus snow-like words). It
seems to be a hot debate! Bottom-line, we do know
that the indigenous peoples (Inupiaq) do have an
extensive vocabulary for snow and ice which isn’t
surprising given their year-round natural
environment!
The native Alaskans should get together with
snowboarders. Skiers are always using different
words, such as “pow pow,” “mashed potatoes,”
“champagne snow (powder),” “cauliflower,” “sticky
snow,” “dust on crust” to describe the snow.

5. Snowflakes can get huge! According to Guinness
World Records, the largest snowflakes on record
were 15 inches (38 cm) in diameter and 8 inches
thick. They fell on Fort Keogh, in eastern Montana
on 28 January 1887. Nearby ranchers described the
flakes as “larger than mild pans” and measured
them; “8 inches thick”.

6. “Fear of Snow” is a thing. It’s called
“chionophobia” which comes from ‘chion,’ the Greek
word for snow. In case you wondering what’s so
scary, imagine being caught in an avalanche or
buried under snow; for some people, it’s similar
to fear of water.

7. About 90% of snow is air. Snow is a great
insulator and keeps us warm. Snow is almost all
air so it’s used for hibernation by many animals.
Did you know igloos can be 100 degrees warmer
inside? If you’re ever stuck in the snow, build a
snow cave!

8.Snow is good for the garden. Think of snow as
nature’s mulch. provides needed moisture as well
as nutrients. Nitrogen attaches to snowflakes as
the snow falls through the atmosphere. That’s why
The Old Farmer’s Almanac calls snow a “poor man’s
fertilizer.”

9. Snowflakes seem to flutter slowly but they can
also fall very quickly in wintery conditions. How
fast? Up to 9 mph!

10. No two snowflakes are alike, Or, let’s just
say that the likelihood in nature (not a
scientific lab) is very minute. There are many of
many molecules plus each snowflake follows a
different path through the atmosphere.

(Sorry for the length..just got the email from the
Old Farmer's Almanac)

Never fear that we won't get a lot of snow. Just
because there's a late start, we know it's coming.
Poor Judy, though. I'm exhausted just cleaning
both decks, the front yard and trying to get as
much snow off of the roofs where I can reach. This
every day stuff gets to be a lot for us old folks.

Nice pictures you guys.

Fluff’n stuff sure makes for some pretty pix,
but what a monstrous task to clear.
In the video it looks like Zelda is saying:
“I did a pretty good job, didn’t I.”
On a side; Exciting day yesterday.
Every game closer to the big one
blows my mind. It must be the meds.

I believe everyone expected snow this winter even
after a green Christmas but the intensity is rather
surprising. Hey, it's da U.P. Anything can happen. A
cool or hot summer, a 150 or 350 inch winter, a
Fathers Day flood. Anything can happen, and that's
good.

Hi
Donna, there's another type of yellow snow. Per
Frank Zappa:
"Watch out where those huskies go
Don't eat that yellow snow"

Alex, yes, a good game yesterday. If this keeps up I
may watch the Superbowl for the first time in my
life.

Kathryn...you are so right...forgot about the
Yellow stuff...just don't eat it! lol

GREAT game yesterday...I just talked with a
friend..."I'm not a footballer, but we both watched
the game yesterday and we are both thrilled"...ME
TOO! I don't typically watch football either, but
GO Lions!!

You guys are making me feel a bit better after the very unusual, monstrous 2+ feet we received down here last week.

Do things come in FOURS now?
During last week's deep freeze...
My Son's house had a water pipe freeze.
Their furnace went out.
He caught Covid (he's young and doing OK but now I'M in isolation).
It warmed up yesterday and the (cracked) water pipe started leaking (maybe it's actually part of the 1st one?).

But keep the info and images coming Mary. It really helps with my day.

The John J. Boland in Duluth turned off it's position transponder but not before Marine Traffic caught its declared destination.