Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Blowing snow causes hazards, forces Range school closings

Blowing snow, combined with wind chill readings of 40 below, closed Gogebic Range schools for the second time this week on Wednesday.

Visibility was poor and traffic was light on Wednesday morning.

Overnight winds of up to 30 mph were reported throughout the area.

The sun popped out in Ironwood around 10 a.m. Wednesday, but the downtown temperature still stood at minus 9 around noon and the thermometer wasn't predicted to hit positive numbers until today.

At the Luther L. Wright School in Ironwood, superintendent Tim Kolesar said classes are canceled when it gets down to a 30 below wind chill reading and it was minus 38 on Wednesday.

Staff members and teachers volunteered their day off to make mojakka, Finnish stew, at the school for Saturday's Sisu cross country ski race.

Jeanne Walston said 50 gallons, or 700 servings, of mojakka were being prepared, including slicing the various types of vegetables.

A total of 3.2 inches of snow fell at the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Treatment Plant for the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. Wednesday, bringing the season's total to 126.1 inches.

The 24-hour low reading at the wastewater treatment plant on the Montreal River was minus 10, which was much milder than at other locations across the Gogebic Range.

Groomers were out and snowmobile trail conditions were improving across the Gogebic Range, with most routes reported to be in good shape, although there were still a few wet spots remaining n low areas.

Blowing snow continued to be a problem Wednesday in the Upper Peninsula on M-28, from Kawbawgam Road to Munising, where state police said the highway remained closed until 4:40 p.m.

The National Weather Service's Duluth office reported overnight Tuesday lows of nearly 30 below in northern Minnesota, including at the nation's Ice Box, International Falls.

The formation of ice on Lake Superior ended the ferry service to the Apostle Islands. The ice road to the islands wasn't open, however.