The blizzard that has impacted the Upper Peninsula the past two days is so widespread that it is stretching the resources of every community.
The National Weather Service says that when it’s over, most areas will have seen at least two, if not three, feet of snow in a 36-hour period. And the high winds are causing massive snow drifts in roads, parking lots, and sidewalks. Authorities are still urging everyone to stay home.
State Senator Ed McBroom (R-Norway) serves all 15 Upper Peninsula counties. He told RRN News Monday morning that he is monitoring the situation as he himself plows out his Dickinson County farm. One concern he has is roofs collapsing from the heavy snow, as we saw in Marquette during that last storm a few weeks ago. In fact, McBroom and his sons were removing snow from the roofs of their barns Monday morning.
McBroom says that Governor Gretchen Whitmer has opened an Emergency Operations Center in Lansing, and he has spoken with the governor.
McBroom says this Center brings together all of the people who have to deal with the aftermath of the storm, and the state police emergency officials are in contact with all of the County Emergency Management Coordinators. He says that once all of the data comes in from the county level, then the governor can assess whether a State of Emergency is needed.
That gets the ball rolling on possible state assistance.
In the meantime, McBroom says he is communicating with the U.P.’s three state representatives, as well as local officials across the Upper Peninsula.
You can hear Jack Hall’s interview with Sen. McBroom here:
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