Frost remains in Ontonagon County

ONTONAGON — While the Michigan Department of Transportation is removing winter road restrictions from main downstate roads, Ontonagon County is a step closer to the time when its three major highways can be clear of winter ice.

One of the three highway frost tubes monitored by the Ontonagon County Road Commission for the state is now free of frost. The three highways monitored are U.S. 45 in Woodspur, U.S. 45 near Bruce Crossing and M-64, between White Pine and Bergland.

The Woodspur tube is thawed. Last week, it was thawed 18 inches and frozen to 58 inches.

The Bruce Crossing tube is frozen to 56 inches and thawed to 22, while the White Pine-Bergland tube is frozen to 64 inches and thawed to 32.

Last year on April 6, all three of the frost tubes were thawed and it was definitely spring. Residents realize that depending on the weather, tubes that are thawed can, on occasion, re-freeze.

Rotarians and others in the community are still waiting for the big sign of real spring, however, when the ice leaves the Ontonagon River. Those who purchased tickets to guess when the ice departs are watching their ticket dates. In 2017, the ice passed out of the river to a waiting Lake Superior on March 28 and the winner of the event was the late Andy Lockhart.

—Jan Tucker