Winter finally arrives with a blast of snow and high winds

Any doubt that winter would shrug its broad shoulders and skip the Northland ended last Sunday and Monday as blustery northwest winds howled and shook houses and lots of snow blanketed the ground.

City and county snowplow truck operators worked long hours through the day and night to clear the roads.

Private snowplow drivers worked throughout the night, opening driveways and plowing for businesses. Of course, the sounds of snowblowers could be heard as well. And certainly, the familiar feel of a snow shovel was renewed for most of us, as well as old muscles reawakened as one shoveled themselves out the next day.

Golden Eagle Lodge, located 20 miles up the Gunflint Trail, reported 18 inches of snowfall. The National Weather Service reported 17.4 inches of snow fell about four miles west of Grand Marais, 13.5 inches in Hovland, 14 inches in Lutsen and 12 inches in Silver Bay.

High winds reaching 66 mph felled some trees across power lines causing power outages. Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen said that as of Monday around 2 p.m., eight power outages had been reported within a five-mile radius of Grand Marais, with one power outage in Grand Portage, one up the Gunflint Trail, and one reported in Lutsen.

Because temperatures hovered around the freezing line early Sunday, snow mixed with freezing drizzle made driving perilous throughout the Northland. Tow truck drivers were out in force as some who ventured onto the icy roads ended up short of their destinations in a ditch.

Cook County I.S.D. 166 closed school on Monday, December 6, as did Great Expectations, Birch Grove Community School and the Saplings program. Wind chill temperatures were -22 in Grand Marais on Monday, too dangerous for little ones to wait outside for a school bus to come. School was back Tuesday, and the missed day will be made up later in the school year.