Warm week ahead as fog leaves area

IRONWOOD - With thick fog and cool temperatures, Thursday on the Gogebic Range felt more like a November day.

The thermometer stood at 50 degrees at 4:25 p.m. in downtown Ironwood, under cloudy skies.

The cool temperatures put a crimper on hay-making operations across the Gogebic Range in a summer in which ample rain has made grass mowing a twice weekly job for many.

Barring a further dip in the temperatures, the record low of 38 set for July 13-14 in 1960 wasn't in jeopardy, according to National Weather statistics compiled at Marquette.

Warmer days are ahead, beginning today, when a high of 74 degrees was in the forecast.

Saturday's high will reach around 82 and it will be around a pleasant 71 on Sunday, according to the forecast.

Monday's high is expected to peak at 84 degrees.

The next substantial rainfall in the forecast is predicted for Wednesday, when around an inch could fall, although storms are possible on Saturday.

Temperatures in the 90s and above are not uncommon for this period in July in Ironwood. The mercury shot up to 104 degrees on July 13, 1936. On that day, the low temperature was 75.

On the other hand, a trace of snow was recorded in Ironwood on July 14, 1952, according to the NWS.

The National Weather Service office in Duluth on Thursday issued a beach hazard warning for Lake Superior with high waves and rip currents, but with the temperatures in the low 50s, there probably wasn't much swimming going on.

-Ralph Ansami