Monday, 1/5

Wow. It's a week later and we're still feeling its effects.

One week ago we had our “Bomb Cyclone”, the storm that dumped anywhere from four to 35 inches of snow across the Central UP and caused a vast majority of the city of Marquette to be without power for anywhere from nine hours (like Loraine and me) to four days (parts of North Marquette and Chocolay Township). Effects from the storm and the power outage are still around in the strangest ways, like this--

Loraine and I have woken up without heat two of the past five days.

Once our nine hour power outage (try saying THAT three times fast) was over the furnace in our building came back on and warmed us up. But both past Tuesday and past Friday something happened during the overnight hours, as we were awoken by 60 degree temperatures thanks to a furnace that hadn't kicked in. Someone came to look at it Tuesday and was surprised that it had actually worked after the power outage, and when he came back Friday he was a bit curious as to why it hadn't worked again after he fixed it.

But it was fixed, and that's the important thing. There were people around here without heat for four or five days; our few hours was nothing compared to that.

But hopefully—hopefully--our furnace will stay on and continue to keep us warm. Keep your fingers crossed.

*****

Another lingering effect of the storm? There was such a dumping of snow that the city is just getting around to clearing off sidewalks, and I took advantage of that to grab a yardstick and take a picture--

That's right. The snowbank outside of the station is 34 inches tall. Now, we didn't get 34 inches of snow; that's what happens when snow plows go through multiple times and toss crap onto the sidewalk.

But still. A 34 inch snowbank is nothing to sneeze at, especially a week after the storm, one that was so big that we're still dealing with the aftermath.  And today?  Well, it snowed another two inches here in Marquette, but apparently more outside the city as schools are closed all across the UP.

After several years of not even bothering to appear, it seems as if winter is making up for it--and more--this year.

(jim@wmqt.com)