Here in the Keweenaw, especially this year with over 300+ inches of snow, it builds UP on our roofs to the point of having to shovel them off to relieve the weight... or if the temperatures get warm enough, the snow starts sliding off on its own. Today’s photos from Karen Anderson Ham show us how that happens, sliding and sliding until it finally falls off and creates a mountain of chunky snow that has to be moved. Karen said they spent hours cleaning that snow, then chopped the snow and ice off their deck, snowblowing and breaking up the snow off the path from their big garage, too, when another load emptied off the house roof. They cleaned it up again, went inside for some dinner and while they were eating the roof emptied again. They waited until the next morning to finish that clean-up job. It seems like a never-ending job here UP North. It’s time for Spring to show its face for real, pretty soon!

Another video today, geared to kids. This one from CBC Kids News and interesting for those of us that have experienced the freezing ice storms this winter, too. The lead-in says: “Ice storms can be beautiful to look at, but they can also be dangerous and damage homes, trees and power lines. CBC Kids News contributor Aerin Murphy explains how ice storms form and what happens when they do.”

Hi
Although the snow in the photos is a lot of work,
plainly, ice is worse. It's impossible to safely drive
on (at least for me) and does take down trees &
powerlines. I remember my mom & I having to stay with
friends in another town for a few days when an ice
storm took down big tree branches & the powerline in
our backyard.

Wow! That looks familiar. Happens at our house at
least 4 times a year. And the ice underneath that
snow is so very heavy. It takes hours to clean it
up. Nice pictures that accurately depict what
happens. I wish we only had that much slide off of
our house. But even that much is a lot to deal
with.

Snow is work...no question there...but it is a
huge moneymaker for folks in the tourism business.
Decades ago, when I worked at the Mariner in
Copper Harbor, it snowed 44 days in a row. Us
employees were crying "We are being buried alive".
The business owners were thanking Heikki Lunta for
the "white gold"...it was one busy year that year!
Snow for some folks is just great FUN!

Ice storms can be deadly, but if you get a smaller
one, and then blue skies and sun behind it...there
is nothing more beautiful!!!