Photo submitted by Spencer Grotto A large tree full of ice stands behind the “Welcome to Downtown Alpena” sign on Monday. Alpena received heavy ice accumulation from a winter storm on Sunday. The storm caused thousands of power outages and led many trees to fall.

ALPENA — For the second time in less than a year, a major ice storm has ravaged portions of Northeast Michigan, knocking out power for thousands and leaving behind a trail of fallen trees and damaged property.

The outage is expected to last at least several days and that timeframe could be extended if the restoration effort is hindered by weather, especially wind, Alpena Power Company (APC) President and CEO Ken Dragiewicz said.

The storm also caused the only two gas stations open on Monday to run out of fuel.

As of Monday at 1:30 p.m., there were more than 14,000 APC customers without electricity and heat, as cold temperatures began to roll into the area. Crews were able to restore some power to residents, but whether the power supply holds or not will depend on the weather.

Just north of Alpena, Rogers City and surrounding communities received heavy snow, with large drifts that made travel challenging.

As the winter storm dipped south late Sunday evening, Alpena and Alcona counties were placed in the crosshairs for this year’s ice storm.

During the ice storm last March, nearly four counties were left without power, leaving people without power for nearly two weeks in some cases.

The extent of the damage from Sunday’s storm is still unfolding, but damage in Alpena is widespread.

Dragiewicz said on Monday that more utility workers are on their way up north and it will be all hands on deck to restore power. However, he said the uncertainty of Monday’s weather can delay progress.

Temperatures for Monday were expected to plunge into the single digits with strong winds. The forecast for Tuesday wasn’t much better as the National Weather Service predicted the highest temperature will only be 20 degrees and with gusty winds.

“It could slow out restoration efforts,” Dragiewicz said.

Alpena should see some thawing of the ice on Thursday and Friday when it is expected to warm to about 40 degrees.

Last year, APC suffered a collapse of its transmission system that in turn caused a complete blackout in Alpena County. Dragiewicz said that is not the case this time.

“The overall grid is in good shape and we haven’t lost our transition system,” he said.

Until Sunday afternoon, Rogers City was forecasted to receive the brunt of the ice. However, the storm dipped south late Sunday evening; Rogers City and the surrounding areas received several feet of wet heavy snow.

More snow accumulation was expected on Monday.

Rogers City Mayor Scott McLennan said he feels fortunate that the ice storm didn’t make a direct hit on Rogers City, but he added he feels bad for the thousands of people in Alpena and Alcona who will now have to deal with the storm’s direct and indirect impacts.

McLennan said to describe how much snow accumulated in Rogers City is hard to put into words. He added that residents of the city have cooperated with local officials to help weather the storm.

“We are fortunate that we missed the ice, but the sheer amount of snow we received has been challenging for EMS, road crews, and police,” he said. “The citizens heeded the warnings and stayed off the roads and that is making our response easier.”

McLennan said he estimates areas of the city received about three feet of snow since the storm rolled in Sunday afternoon. He added there are also many large drifts.

Alpena County Emergency Management Director Nick Modrzynski said the ice storm in 2025 and the one Sunday have affected Northeast Michigan differently. He said last year, roads may have been ice covered and slippery, but this year they are icy, with a mix of snow and slush. He added that some roads also have some minor flooding.

Modrzynski explained that there could be further power outages as high winds and snow on Monday take their toll on trees that are already weak from the storm.

“It could get a little worse,” he said. “There are so many trees down in the area and the weather isn’t ideal. But, crews are out working to get everything back to normal.”

Modrzynski said the only two gas stations that were open in Alpena on Monday, the Shell gas station and the BP gas station on Chisholm Street, had run out of gas. He said he was coordinating with the State of Michigan to have more fuel sent to Alpena County.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.