Power outages started near the same time as the snow Wednesday morning, with major outages in South Range and Painesdale and smaller scattered outages elsewhere. On Wednesday, the number of reported outages peaked at 7,000. As of Thursday afternoon, UP Power Company (UPPCO) was still reporting about 2,500 customers without power on Twitter. They expect almost half of those to still be without power Friday morning.

UPPCO’s outage map stopped working Wednesday morning and had not been repaired as of Thursday afternoon. Power outages have been reported online and to the Gazette in parts of Baraga and Marquette Counties. A spokesman for UPPCO did not return request for comment.

Kevin Harju of the Houghton County Road Commission said Wednesday that the snow fell fast, but he expected to have all roads cleared Thursday morning. The heavy snow slowed clearing efforts and caused some equipment failures, but Harju said no critical equipment was effected and road-clearing would continue.

He said rumors that plows or sanders had been pulled from clearing roads due to the severity of the weather were unfounded. While shifts changed, he said clearing continued throughout the day.

(Payne Chassen/For the Gazette) Payne Chassen in Skanee has been without power for well over 24 hours as of Thursday afternoon, although the road to her home has been plowed. The heavy snow has weighted down many of the trees, knocking down several limbs in her yard and drive.

Harju also remarked that the snow fell in an unusual pattern, being heavier from Chassel to Bootjack and lighter near Chassell and South Range.

(Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette) Chassell suffered whiteout conditions early on Wednesday. Later in the day, the school is barely visible from the road after their parking lot was plowed .

(Ashley Lehto/Daily Mining Gazette) The Portage Lake Lift Bridge nearly disappeared behind the snow as it blanketed the lakeshore in a fresh, white coat.