In the Brainerd,MN area snow depth varies from 9in. to 11+ inches. At my place we got the 11+ depth, 8 mi. north of BRD. Great, but caught me off guard with the snow removal equip.
Mower deck still on the tractor, and push blade not on the ATV.
I have not been out riding yet. Maybe tomorrow. THe lake ice thickness is not quite where I would like to see it, although a few sleds have been on my lake.
But south of Brainerd, and east toward Deerwood, some sleds went thru the ice, both riders rescued in time.
The ditch up County Road 3 near my place is part of the trail system, but has not been groomed yet. (Another story) There are um-teen driveway approaches with 3 ft. plow berms . Talk about
ditch banging ! , and where sleds have been landing in the ditch, is already down to the dirt!!
Here's one story, of one poor S.O.B. rider.
Note strip of busted ice behind the sled.
Story:
IT'S NOT SAFE
Two snowmobiles plunge through lakes area ice
By MATT ERICKSON
Staff Writer
In separate incidents during the snowy weekend, two men were rescued from area lakes after their snowmobiles plunged through the ice.
A snowmobiler went through the ice about noon Saturday on Tame Fish Lake, near Deerwood. The rider spent about 20 minutes in the water before being rescued, the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Department reported.
At about 4 p.m. Sunday, a snowmobiler went through the ice about 100 yards from the shores of South Long Lake. Two riding companions on other sleds made it to shore. Brainerd firefighters, using a rescue boat and a hovercraft, were able to pull the man to shore about 20 minutes after he went through the ice.
"What this tells you is stay off the ice," said Assistant Brainerd Fire Chief Kevin Stunek. "The ice is not safe at all. This one was fortunate because we were able to get him out, but he put a lot of other peoples' lives at stake, too."
According to the National Weather Service in Duluth, the storm dropped 12 inches of snow in Hewitt, 11.5 inches in Pequot Lakes, 11 inches in Breezy Point, 10 inches in Nisswa, 9.5 inches in Pillager, 8.5 inches in Pine River, 8 inches in Brainerd and Little Falls and 5.5 inches in Long Prairie.
The snow made travel difficult on area roads and highways. The Minnesota Department of Transportation reported very difficult driving conditions in Aitkin County and fair driving conditions in Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties through Monday afternoon.
MnDOT reported blowing snow, packed snow and icy patches on area highways. However, there were few reports of vehicle accidents or vehicles in ditches caused by the winter storm.
"People did pretty good job staying off roads or going slow," said State Patrol dispatcher Pat Nelson. "It was actually pretty quiet."
State, county and city plows were out in force Sunday morning removing snow. In Brainerd, snow plowing on Monday will start at 6 a.m. on all east-west running streets.
Snow removal in Brainerd's downtown business district will start at 3 a.m. Monday. Vehicles parking on the following streets will be towed at the owners expense: Front Street from South Sixth to South Eighth streets, Laurel Street from South Sixth to South Eighth streets and South Seventh Street from Maple to Front streets.
More snow could be coming. The National Weather Service in Duluth is forecasting a 60 percent chance of snow Tuesday, a 40 percent Tuesday night and a 20 percent chance Wednesday through Saturday.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at
matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or .
http://www.brainerddispatch.com/stories/120307/new_20071203027.shtml
