Noah Johnson Daily Press A resident on the southside of Escanaba shovels her sidewalk Thursday morning following roughly 10 inches of snow the night before.

ESCANABA — According to the Escanaba Water Plant, the Escanaba area accumulated roughly 10 inches of snow on Wednesday, the most significant snowfall for the season so far, just in time for the first day of spring.

“The Escanaba area was kind of variable, and that can happen anytime you’re close to the Great Lakes,” said National Weather Service (NWS) Observation Program Leader Jim Salzwedel.

He provided totals from other areas in Delta County and around the U.P.

According to Salzwedel, Gladstone received 7.3 inches, Garden received eight inches, the Iron Mountain area received four to six inches, Cedar River received seven inches, Dagget received 3.3 inches, Menominee received seven inches, and the Newberry area received five to seven inches.

Munising was the closest to Escanaba as it received 9.5 inches.

Some areas in the U.P., such as Negaunee or Ishpeming, only saw snowflakes.

The storm hit Escanaba the hardest, with measurements in Ludington Park at 10 inches.

“That 10 inches was their biggest daily snowfall of this season,” he said.

With Wednesday’s snow, March is now tied with February at 12 total inches accumulated in the Escanaba area. January saw 3.1 inches, December 6.5 inches, and November 1.5 inches.

So far, Escanaba accumulated 35.1 inches, up from the total of 23.5 inches accumulated in the 2023-24 season.

Salzwedel explained that the snow comes from what the NWS calls a Colorado low – a low-pressure area in southeast Colorado.

It starts developing on the front range of the Rockies and continues to develop over the southern plains. It then tracked towards the northeast and brings up moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.

“We were cold enough, and Escanaba was in a great spot for precipitation of that low track (that was) south and east of Escanaba,” he said.

The area could still see more snowfall in April and possibly in May.

“Upper Michigan is no stranger to springtime wet snows,” he said.

“We could still get springtime snows even in May.”

He added that the most recent snowfall was significant, but more could be coming next week.

“It might be one of the bigger ones, but I think we have another one in the works. (We’ll) have to stay tuned to what happens next week even; there could be another bigger system,” Salzwedel said.

“We’re definitely not out of the woods yet with winter weather. I would just say, don’t put your guard down yet.”

Even though spring has sprung, the public is encouraged to prepare for more winter weather.

“Don’t put your shovel away just yet,” he said.

Salzwedel added that the weather is variable, and track systems may change from previous predictions.

To stay up to date on local weather patterns, visit https://www.weather.gov/mqt/ or call the NWS at (906) 475-5212.