According to the Farmer’s Almanac, “March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.” Unfortunately, there were more lions than lambs spotted last month. The month went out with a huge roar last week with a Friday blizzard. (Some also chocked it up to an early April Fool’s Day joke by Mother Nature).
The weather dragged its feet on Friday, but when the storm struck, it was a monster. Winds roared up to 40 and 50 miles per hour. Temperatures in the 30s led to heavy, wet snow. In Britton, Doug Oelkers measured another 6.8 inches of the white stuff.
Area schools were called off Friday. And later in the day, travel became impossible. People on the roads became stuck or stranded as authorities begged people to stay home.
Throughout the day, mixed precipitation led to ice buildup on power lines and combined with the intense winds, many power outages in the area were reported.
Lake Region Electric Association reported blinks and outages in the Webster area. Otter Tail reported outages in Eden, Enemy Swim, Grenville, Lake City, Roslyn, Veblen and additional locations. By that evening, power companies were forced to pull crews off the road due to dangerous travel conditions.
By Friday morning, power was restored. Yet only a few days later, utility companies were again warning of possible outages for this week.
