Clarissa Kell | Daily Press Ed Eisenberger, the owner of the House of Ludington, uses his snowblower to clear the sidewalk in front of his business during the first snow storm of 2019 Monday. Eisenberger was one of many trying to clear snow away during the storm.

ESCANABA — A winter storm that struck the area Monday brought an abundance of “snowman” snow — the high-water content stuff that is heavy and wet. It’s great for snowmen, but created a difficult task for residents trying to clear roads, driveways and sidewalks.

According to Jordan Wendt, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Marquette, the overall average snowfall in the U.P. was around 8 inches with some areas seeing more and some seeing less.

“The city of Escanaba saw the heaviest amount of snow they’ve seen in awhile,” he said. Measurements at the Escanaba Water Plant showed the city received about 8 inches of snow during Monday’s storm.

Wendt said there were places like Manistique in Schoolcraft County that saw up to 12 inches of snow. He said Gladstone saw about 8 inches and Brampton received 10.5 inches.

Keweenaw County had the most snowfall with 12 to 14 inches, Wendt said.

“We were watching the storm for several days,” he said. “Initially, around four to five days ago, we thought it was going to be a 4 to 5 to 6-inch storm. Then it became the 8 to 9 to 10-inch storm we got. The biggest takeaway was the widespread of about 8 inches of snow — most places saw around 8 inches.”

Escanaba Public Works Director Bob Becotte said the combination of the wet, heavy snow and the duration of the storm made plowing difficult, but efforts went well overall. He said public works crews started plowing Monday at 4 a.m. and were back out plowing this morning at 2:30 a.m.

The snow has piled high around the city. All down Ludington Street today there are snowbanks taking