News Photo by Reagan Voetberg A large skeleton stands in fresh snow in Alpena on Monday. Over the weekend, Alpena received more than a foot of snow and now has nearly 20 inches of snow on the ground.

ALPENA — Residents and businesses were still shoveling, snowblowing, and plowing snow after a snowstorm brought more than a foot of snow to the Alpena area.

The storm, which began Saturday and moved out of the area early Sunday night, dropped a total of 12.4 inches of snow, the National Weather Service says.

The Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning on Friday that called for eight to 13 inches of snow in Northeast Michigan, and that forecast proved to be accurate.

On Saturday, Alpena received 4.7 inches of fresh snow and the lingering storm followed that up with an additional 7.7 inches on Sunday.

Sunday’s snow total broke the one-day total record for Feb. 16 which was 6.7 inches from 2006.

Weather records for Alpena date back to 1916.

The first half of this month has been a snowy one, as the area received some type of measurable accumulation almost daily. The consistent lake-effect flurries have added up on the ground and a storm on Feb. 12 and 13 which dropped 6.1 inches caused snow banks to rise.

The storm over the weekend has pushed the total amount of snow on the ground to 19 inches, as of Sunday, but there are snow banks around Northeast Michigan that are 20-plus feet high.

So far this month, the Weather Service says Alpena has received 27.1 inches of snow, as of Monday. The long-term average for the first 16 days of February is about 9.7 inches.

The average February snowfall for the entire month is 17 inches, so the snowfall already received this month has easily surpassed the long-term average with half of a month to go.

The snow in Alpena looks as if it is going to stick around for the duration of the winter.

The current forecast predicts frigid weather for Northeast Michigan until Thursday. Low temperatures are expected to be near zero with wind chills that could drive temperatures well below zero.

The Salvation Army in Alpena says people who need assistance to get out of the cold or need help with other matters should call 211.

The extreme cold isn’t going to stick around long, the Weather Service says. Temperatures are expected to rebound into the mid to upper 30s this weekend. There are no large snow events forecasted, but there is a chance for lingering lake-effect flurries.

In Alpena County on Monday, road crews did their best to clear streets, while snow removal businesses worked feverishly to accommodate all of their customers.

Alpena City Manager Rachel Smolinski City crews will continue to work on the local streets to make them passable and then on to the snow removal process. But, she said, it will take time.

“Please be patient,” she said. “The city is doing the best it can to get everyone cleared out. We are doing the best we can.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.