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Ice climbers taking part in Ice Fest

We’re getting close to one of the most unique events around – an ice climbing festival! The Munising area has some of the best ice climbing in the Midwest and for many years the Michigan Ice Fest has taken place in Munising. New this year, there will be family-fun activities at Bayshore Park, in downtown Munising, in conjunction with the actual ice climbing clinics, demos and speaking engagements. The festival will be taking place February 4th-6th and here are some of the fun things taking place at Bayshore Park:

• Ice Climbing Tower at the Bayshore Park
• Shuttle bus from Bayshore Park to Sand Point Curtains
• Games & Gear
• Winter Gear Demos
• Bonfire Social
• Sledding Hill
• Middle and High School students will be building snowman sculptures as part of their homecoming activities

We’ll be sure to post more information as it becomes available!

As for the weather in the last week, it has been snowy! The lake effect snow has really hit the area and has made for some great winter sport activities. If you check out the Snow Depth graphic on our Weather page, you’ll see dark purple, which represents lots of deep snow! The forecast for the next several days is more snow and colder temperatures. Bring it on!

Here’s some pictures of Munising taken earlier in the week:

Looking east on Superior St, the snow piles are growing

Looking out over Munising Bay, ice has formed but still not recommended for travel

Notice for snowmobilers. (Click to enlarge)

Happy first day of winter as we’re officially in that season! Not much has happened in the last week as far as the weather is concerned. The daytime temperatures have been pretty mild the last few days and it’s quite enjoyable to be outside in the snow. Whether you’re snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or snowmobiling, it doesn’t get any better than this! The snowmobile trail groomer is reporting the trails are in fair to decent shape and mildly quiet for the time being. With the holidays only a few days away, the traffic will increase so please be careful out there.

UPCOMING EVENT:
If you’re looking for some winter fun, make plans to attend the 5th annual Valley Spur Ski Bash coming up on January 8, 2011. It’s a great day of cross-country skiing fun with two different races (24K & 12K) and different styles (freestyle & classic). The event begins at 10am and you can pre-register by visiting the Valley Spur Ski Bash webpage. The Ski Bash is a great event and you’re guaranteed a fun time.

That’s it for this week. We’d like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. We hope to see you around the Munising area!

Merry Christmas!

It finally snowed! After an almost snow-free November, we’ve finally seen a significant amount snow! Since Wednesday afternoon, we’ve been in a Lake Effect Snow Warning that continued until this morning. The area between Munising and east to Sault Ste. Marie were most affected by the lake-effect snow with the hardest hit being between Munising and Grand Marais. In Munising, there’s roughly 6 inches of snow on the ground while to east there’s over a foot of snow! Check the Munising weather page to see current snow depths, radar and the future forecast.

With all the new snow, it will make for a perfect backdrop for tonight’s “Rekindle the Spirit” event in downtown Munising. The fun begins at 5pm as Santa will be strolling down Superior Street from the Moose Lodge to People’s State Bank where the annual tree lighting ceremony will take place. There will be photos with Santa and the Grinch as well as hot chocolate and other goodies served at area businesses. This is a great opportunity to get into the holiday spirit and support the local businesses. We hope to see you there!

EVENT DETAILS:
Rekindle the Spirit – Holiday Season Kick-off
Friday, Dec. 3rd
Downtown Munising
5pm-7:30pm

Another cold air blast has hit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This time around we’re getting strong north winds which is causing some lake-effect snow bands to develop. The big winner yesterday was Newberry, MI as they received 2 inches of snow. Still not enough to fire up those snowmobiles or get out the snowshoes but it’s definitely on people’s minds. The future forecast is showing temperatures rising slightly over the weekend and into next week so winter hasn’t set in quite, yet. The good thing about this cold weather, though, is it will definitely be a help to the hunters looking to bag the big buck. With the firearm deer season just around the corner (November 15th to be exact), the deer seem to become more active with colder temperatures and hunters will tend to see more deer moving around during the day.

EVENT:
This Saturday, November 6th is the annual Fall Bazaar at the Sacred Heart Church in Munising. The event will run from 10am-1pm. Click for directions.

As you probably heard on the news (and labeled as “Fall Fury” on The Weather Channel), the Midwest got hit with a pretty big storm and the entire Upper Peninsula took part in the action. The last couple days have been extremely windy and rainy! The wind continues to gust outside but the High Wind Warnings have been called off. Many areas saw lots of trees fall, which caused localized electricity outages. The storm moved in from the south-southwest so Lake Michigan and Lake Superior saw their share of big waves. Buoys located in the middle of Lake Superior were reporting waves as high as 16 feet!

A couple interesting points about this storm:

• The storm was said to be very similar to the one that sank the vessel the Edmund Fitzgerald back on November 10, 1975.
• It set a new record for the lowest barometric pressure for a non-tropical storm. At 956 millibars (the previous record was just above 962 millibars), it is the type of pressure that one often sees in a Category-3 strength hurricane!

Here were the peak wind gusts for a couple spots in Alger County:

• Munising: 51mph
• Doe Lake: 47mph
• Grand Marais: 68mph

On Lake Superior, Rock of Ages (just south of Isle Royale) had a wind gust of 78mph! Holy Wah! View complete list of Upper Peninsula peak wind gusts.

In other news, this Sunday is Halloween! For those looking to trick-or-treat on Sunday, the hours will be from 5pm to 7pm in Munising. Be safe!

Have a video clip or photo of the storm? Please share it with us and we’ll post it on our blog!

Hard to believe it’s already that time of year, again. This weekend brings us the official end of summer. I can’t complain too much, though. This summer’s weather has been fantastic and one of the best in recent years. Overall, it seemed we stayed comfortable with a few warm streaks here and there. We also had quite a bit of rain, which helped us stay green and push the water levels closer to the norm.

As always, there are a couple annual events happening this weekend. Over in Grand Marais is 7th annual Grand Marais Triathlon happening on Saturday and Sunday. The events include a 5K run, a junior triathlon and the main triathlon for adults. Here in Munising, the annual Rubber Duck Race & Raffle will take place on Sunday on the Anna River. Each year the prizes and raffle items get bigger and better at this great event. Then on Monday, the Moose Lodge of Munising hosts its annual Family Fun Day. Open to everyone, they feature great food and games for the kids.

For all of those looking for a challenge, the annual “Tour da Woods” mountain bike race is just on the horizon. The main races will take place on Saturday, September 11th and then on Sunday, Sept. 12th is “Tour da Valley” – free event for youth pedalers. To learn more about this mountain biking spectacle visit www.tourdawoods.org. Make sure to visit the rest of the Explore Munising Michigan website to help organize your trip for this race and the autumn color tours.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!

This past week, the weather has given us a small taste of autumn. The temperatures have been much cooler and I’ve even seen a few rare trees with a slight tint of yellow. Even though the fall colors are several weeks away, it’s a good time to start planning your trip to Munising to see them! The colors tend to peak here towards the end of September into the first part of October. This can vary a little from year-to-year because of the climate conditions. Lake Superior also plays a part in the color change as the warmer water temperatures tend to delay the color change near the shore while trees, say 20 miles, inland will peak earlier. According to the 7-day forecast, these cooler temperatures will be rising as it’s suppose to be in the mid-80s for several days and summer will be back!

Click to view poster

If you’re looking to have some fun this weekend and hear some great music, we’ve got something for you. Starting today, at noon (Aug. 27th) and running through Sunday, Aug. 29th is the Porcupine Press’ Birthday Bash & Salute to the Military in Chatham, MI. This 3-day event is being labeled as the “Biggest Party of the Year.” It will feature 5 bands, vendors, silent auctions, beer tent, a mechanical bull and much more. If you’ve ever heard or been to the Sturgis Bike Week in South Dakota, you’ll definitely want to attend this event! For more info, visit the Birthday Bash website.

Have an enjoyable weekend!