Photo submitted by Pennie Hoeft Large snowdrifts bury a storage shed at a home in Rogers City on Monday. The Rogers City area received several feet of snow but avoided the ice storm that affected areas of Northeast Michigan.

ALPENA – Residents in Northeast Michigan may have woken up on Monday with a case of déjà vu.

With the wounds from last year’s ice storm not fully healed, mother nature hit the replay button and doused a portion of Northeast Michigan with another round of damaging ice.

Alpena Mayor Cindy Johnson the storm is jarring for everyone and she offered some guidance as the community once again needs to pull together to overcome the fallout from Sunday’s storm.

“It is hard to believe Alpena has been hit by another ice storm after last year’s once-in-a-hundred-year storm,” Johnson said. “Our city has taken another major blow with significant tree damage and widespread power outages.”

Currently, all emergency services are operational, as the cleanup process gets underway, Johnson said.

“At this time, all essential services remain operational and available to our residents,” Johnson said. “Cleanup will take time once the weather has passed, and we appreciate everyone’s patience and resilience.”

Johnson requests that residents check on their neighbors. As of 3 p.m. on Monday, Alpena Power’s outage map indicates there were over 14,000 people without power.

“Please take a moment to check on your neighbors and make sure everyone is safe,” Johnson said. “If you currently have power, count your blessings and consider helping those who may not.”

“Stay safe Alpena,” Johnson added.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Jeff Zoltowski discussed the storm system that moved through the area, as residents navigate the destruction left in its wake.

“It was a hard system to track, we initially anticipated more of a rain and snow mix, but unfortunately as the storm drew closer it shifted, producing more of an ice mixture,” Zoltkowski said.

Last year’s ice storm created up to an inch of ice accumulation locally in some spots, early measurements indicate slightly less this time around.

“Early reports from the Alpena area measure between a quarter inch to half an inch of ice accumulation so far,” Zoltkowski said. “Not exactly what we experienced last year, but still a painful reminder nonetheless.”

With tree damage already severe, there is additional concern because of the high winds in the forecast for Tuesday, and snow expected.

“Winds will increase throughout Tuesday and into Tuesday night, with high temperatures in the low teens,” Zoltkowski said. “With the possibility of light snow accumulating up to half an inch, with lake effect snow possible.”

Josh Jambor can be reached at jjambor@thealpenanews.com.