MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Over the holiday weekend, snow finally made a significant mark in counties throughout the UP, however, officials have said this won’t last. This winter season in the UP has been slow to start with just a dusting covering Marquette County and portions of US-41. The National Weather Service predicts a drastic change in the snowy season that UP residents might not be accustomed to.
“Historically when we see these strong El Nino conditions develop we do see a correlation to our weather here across the UP and it usually favors us to be above normal temperature-wise throughout the winter season,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Matt Zika.
An El Nino is a phenomenon where the water temperatures in the depths of the Pacific Ocean are higher than normal, and this year that shift in temperature is significant. “There’s a lot in play here but it does cause an ocean-atmospheric steering flow to develop,” continued Zika.
Although the snowfall may not be as heavy as in previous years, the warm, melting temperatures from Lake Superior and the nighttime freezing temperatures make for an easy recipe for icy road conditions. “Lake effect can be unpredictable, while it can be sunny on one end of a plow run and snowing on the other. I’ve seen 7 inches of snow difference between 3 miles on a road,” commented Marquette County Road Commission Director of Operations Ross Olsen.
Even without the snow, the Marquette County Road Commission noted that the altitude shifts in the UP are a taxing factor that can make for slippery roadways. So slippery, the salt trucks have had to go down M-553, backwards. “We started from the top and salted our way down going backward so we’re spreading salt in front of the truck. There can be a climate change from the bottom by the Carp River by the ski hill up to the top of the hill, there’s a climate change in there,” continued Olsen.
“Ground temperatures are a little bit above normal so you have warming from below even though temperatures are in the teens snow is falling and it’s causing that little glaze of ice,” commented Zika.
The National Weather Service predicts warmer temperatures to continue into later in the week, but that the UP is on track to have one of the top ten least snowiest Novembers.
