• Monday-What'sUP February 24 - 08:50 pm

Today we're reporting from Storm Central (formerly known as Pasty Central). In case you haven't heard, we had a doozy of a storm this past week here UP North. It started Thursday evening, but really didn't get into full swing here in the Keweenaw, until early afternoon on Friday, but oh boy, did it ever progress to blizzard proportions after that. High winds, snow blowing around, low visibility and a few power outages amidst it all. There were even some reports of thunder and lightning on Thursday night when the storm was beginning. Strange weather, indeed.

The first two photos taken by my hubby, Jim Drew, give you a good idea of what we were dealing with during this blizzard. These shots were snapped on Saturday morning. You can't really tell, but that's a road right there, completely plugged with snow from all the blowing around. The snow banks on the left side of the road were at 6 ft. before the storm began so when the winds blow like they were, it drifts the road right shut like this. You can see a trail from where a snowmobile went down the road in the second photo. Let me tell you, there's no getting in or out of these roads after a storm, until the Road Commission can get there to plow them out. By the way, that's something else that happened during this storm, that doesn't occur very often here UP North…all Houghton and Keweenaw County plows were taken off the roads at 9:00 p.m. Friday night and weren't back out there clearing the way for folks until early morning. Of course if there had been an emergency, they would have been called out immediately.

The remaining photos here today, are from Sally Beaudette. She snapped the first one looking out the lower level windows of their Bootjack home. The drift is so high there, that all you can see other than the skyline, is their flag waving in the winds.
Then she stopped over at her Mom's to check on things with her and snapped the last two photos looking out her windows. That's some heavy duty drifting right there. I especially like the last shot, with the snow whipped up into peaks, like a whipped cream topping on a pie!

It has been a crazy winter here in the Keweenaw, sure hope it lets up soon.

Where were the first two photos taken?

Mary says: Sawmill Road, Lake Linden

Had seen where the roads were blocked and knew you folks were having a rocky time. Hope all made it thru safely!

I think all of our homes and yards look the same
now--big,small,in town,rural,fenced,open...they are
all WHITE! great pics as always!

The snow sculptures are uncanny.

Nice photos. The last one looks like almost perfect peaks on a meringue pie - yeah Mother Nature! Yum!

We took a few more photos Sunday afternoon on the Sawmill Road. These were from the opposite side of the drifted portion shown up above.
Note that the snow plow had to push the snow up in banks on the side of the road. That bank in the second photo here is about 12 feet high.

Mary, Jim, and Sally.....that's SOME SNOW!! Think I'll stay South!:)

Hi
We had nothing like that in SE Michigan. On Thursday we had some light snow followed by moderate rain (if it did a sleet/freezing rain stage I missed it). There was lightning Thursday night, and strong winds on Friday. The only problem was that Friday morning my driveway could have been used for pond hockey. Nothing like as bad as what you yoopers had to cope with.

Did someone say Snow-hara desert?

Thanks for sharing those amazing photos, boy I wish I could be U.P. there now, great job Mary,Sally and Jim! Hope to be there in March.

Alex, you crack me U.P.! lmao

Oh WOW! It got bad out here, too. But this is
wayyyy worse than it was here. However, the roads
are still so icy. It's treacherous out there. I
am so ready for spring!

Great pictures!

I like that, Alex - Snowhara!

Sure has been a crazy winter every where!!! When this part of the Midwest has wild weather it reminds be of all the stories about the "good old days" of the pioneers' stories. I also remember the snow drift up to our front door when I was about third grade at Holy Redeemer School on the north side of Milwaukee.(About 1948). Also remember the snow being almost high enough to cover my clotheslines around the late sixties when my kids were little. -sigh- those were the days! Today I can finally see the tops of my patio chairs out front here.

All I can say is, Holy WAH!

Makes me homesick...

Great photos indeed. That is a lot of snow!! You
have us beat by a long shot. We do however have
lots of snow on this east end. It had been quiet
for a while but it was reported yesterday that we
are getting snow squalls as Lake Superior opened
back up to release more lake effect.