The blizzard of 2026 is in the books, so to speak, although we’re told informally that plowing and shoveling leftover snow from last week’s historic dump continues in scattered locations.

And what a blizzard it was. Much of the Upper Peninsula was impacted with the central U.P. and some locations elsewhere coming in for the heaviest snowfall.

The light (in terms of weight) snow was driven relentlessly by winds that approached 65 mph, piling up drifts, blocking doorways and socking in vehicles for 48-plus hours. In general terms, the greater Marquette area received 2 feet of snow while environs east and west got hit even harder with 3 feet and more.

And it was into this white cyclone that emergency crews ventured, to keep the roads clear and the power on. Thousands lost electrical service at one time or another and many roads were just impassible, never mind the battle waged by county and city plow crews.

Police advised that people stay off the roads for all but emergency travel and generally people complied. Visibility was zero in many places, especially out in the rural areas of the U.P. or along the big lake.

Stores and schools shuttered and for two days last week, nothing much was going on, the relentless snowfall and howling winds aside.

Now, many residents are looking forward to the approach of spring and the soothing sunlight and warm temperatures that will follow.

Into that pleasant parade we would only add the following: Let’s not put away the snowblowers and shovels just yet. There is a lot of winter yet to go up here.

And here’s what novelist John Steinbeck observed: “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?”