Giant storm gives winter last laugh
March went out like a lamb while April came in like a beast as one of the worst winter snowstorms of the last two decades hit late last week. It came in two parts. The first part brought freezing rain, sleet, and snow late Thursday. After a short break to dig out Friday morning, part two struck Friday afternoon and didn?t quit until the sun came out 24 hours later. When the bright rays of the sun broke through the clouds in many areas, they warmed the surface of 19 to 32 inches of snow that fell in Presque Isle County.
The area affected the worst was Rogers City, along the shoreline, up into Huron Beach, according to officials with the Presque Isle County Road Commission who recorded 28 inches outside the Rogers City garage. Weather spotter Wally Roeske recorded 29 inches in Rogers City, but far more was reported in Moltke Township where 39 inches was measured, unofficially.
SUPERINTENDENT/MANAGER Eric Rose has been working at the road commission since 1975 and can remember only two other winter weather events that rank higher than this one in terms of snowfall amounts over such a short period of time. Rose said the infamous storm of 1978 and another in the early 1980s brought generous amounts of snow, but the spring storm of 2003 ranks right up there. Compare that to the official snow totals from November 1, 2002 through March 31, when 69.75 inches of snow fell.
While the road commission will no doubt remember the spring storm of 2003, it will not be reflected in the official snowfall totals for the 2002-03 season.
?It?ll be as if it never happened,? said Rose, as the road commission will not be able to factor the storm into its yearly average because they are told by the state not to keep track after March 31.
APRIL HAS brought its share of snow, though, as last year brought 14 inches for the month. The year before it was 10 to 12 inches. Snow is not unexpected for April in Presque Isle County, and the road commission was not caught off guard, said Rose.
?My foreman Albert Glomski was telling us to be ready for it,? said Rose. ?He (Glomski) was thinking April Fool?s Day, but he was off by two days. I?ll probably have to fire him,? he said with a hearty laugh. A few plow frames already had been taken off the trucks, and other equipment had to be put back into operation, but after a couple of hours, every warm body and vehicle with a plow on it was clearing roads. The storm will be a costly one. ?There was tremendous overtime,? Rose said. ?I don?t have the final figures in here, but I think that storm is going to cost the road commission somewhere between $25,000 and $30,000.?
Crews had to be pulled from the roads Thursday and Friday nights, because some of the drivers could not see the roads.
ACCORDING TO meteorologist Corey Chaskeson, the National Weather Service in Gaylord was predicting ?quite a bit of snow.? Chaskeson said most of the storms have moved to the south of northern lower Michigan this season. ?Most of our snowfall has been primarily lake effect,? Chaskeson said. This storm has been the only exception.
?I called Dave Barrons from 9 & 10 News,? said Rose of a phone call he placed Friday. ?He told me it was coming. I asked him ?how much do you think, yet?? He said ?you?re going to get six to nine.? ? On Saturday morning at his home in Onaway, Rose said he had more than a foot of additional white stuff, and a total of 31 inches at his residence. Rose added it was the biggest snowstorm since he became superintendent/manager
IN A VARIETY of areas in the county, mailboxes were knocked over, largely because of the weight of the snow being pushed against them. Road commission crews and deputies from the sheriff?s department assisted with a couple of medical emergencies as snowed-in residents couldn?t navigate their driveways to get to the hospital. And it was a last hurrah for snowmobilers, some of whom had put away their little-used equipment until next season.
But it wasn?t a completely celebrated weekend. In some areas the snow was too deep, as machines sunk in the freshly-fallen powder. With temperatures slightly above the freezing mark most of the week, the snow will begin melting off. And that?s good news for Rose who hopes it melts slowly and that April goes out ?like a snail.?