It’s a snowy, water-filled day for our Pasty Cam viewers. We start out with Debra McCumber in 2007 at Piers Gorge in Dickinson County. She captured this shot of an "unsuspecting" picture taker in the snow. And no wonder the second photographer didn't realize he was the subject in Debra's lens, with the view of the “4th Pier” rapids rushing down below.

Z-Man snapped the second shot in Ontonagon County, back in 2011. Bond Falls is said to be the best single waterfall in the western U.P. and the second best waterfall in Michigan. Sure is pretty, no matter what the season.

We’re back at Piers Gorge for our video, with Jason Asselin in 2016. The sound of the rushing water is mesmerizing. So peaceful and relaxing, it’s the next best thing to being there.

Liquid water has been a pretty scarce thing anywhere this week. Now that the polar vortex has gone home, at least for awhile, it's time to catch our breath this weekend. Still, it looks to be a bit nippy for Winter Carnival coming up next week.

On a lighter side, I survived the vortex this week here in northwest Illinois, even though my pipes froze. After setting an all time record of -29 on Wednesday I thought the worst was over. But then Thursday we broke that new record. It only stood for 7 hours.

It is with some degree of smugness that I announce our new record of -33 now exceeds the record low for Houghton. Not all of the U.P. of course but Houghton at least.

Our snow fall for January also set a new record as well. It was only 30 some inches so no gloating there but the record it beat was from January of 1979. How many of us can remember THAT year's snowfall?

D. A. (Midwested) and all:

I can recall 1979 very clearly. The weather person that morning advised us to watch out for a few flurries that would make the streets slick.

I lived off at 4200 North Broadway and that snowfall paralyzed the neighborhood for three months. Nothing could move along the side streets.

Sorry that you had to experience frozen pipes. I hope that the water damage is minimal.

I spent a couple of years in downtown Shannon, Illinois USA where the city closes a State Highway once a year for a parade. When it was -1degF in Chicago (via radio) it would be -10 to 15degF in Shannon.

I can believe that -33degF temperature.

JT

One for the books and I have to admit, this week really took it out of me. The temp in our office suite in Bloomfield Twp. barely got above 60* and we're in the high rent district.

You can pretty much say Iowa was closed due to the polar vortex. Mail delivery was shut down, schools were closed, travel was not recommended. It was a long week with nearly 1 1/2 ft. of snow, plus deep drifting, hay had to be carried to feed my horses. The horses were fine staying in the barn for 3 straight days, so I did not have to carry hay to far. But thankful none of our water lines froze.

D A (Midwested), I remember the January 1979 snow, our daughter was born the following September....

No water damage, so there was that to be thankful for. Not being able to flush the toilet for a day makes me realize how soft we can become. Even if my truck would have started, like Janie T. pointed out, there was nowhere to go to buy some water. But I do now know how long it takes to melt enough really cold snow to get a toilet take full, LOL.

I brought up the 1979 snowfall of course because the 1978-79 winter set records everywhere, especially in the U.P. The famous US-41 snow thermometer in Mohawk recorded the 390.4 inches that season.

After spending so many winters in the U.P., I simply could not prevent the smile when I realized that the place I now live broke a big winter record for my previous U.P. home.

Here in the Quad Cities, our -33 paled to the low for the state of -38 in Mount Carroll, just 1 hour up the Mississippi, north of here.

With the horses barn held for three days and hay carried in, and also carried out in some form I guess, made for a busy week.