(Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo) A large fleet of utility trucks from MP Systems of East Troy, Wis., were assembled Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of Comfort Inn in Iron Mountain after finishing work helping to get power restored in Dickinson County and surrounding areas. A crew member said they were waiting to learn if they would go to northern Wisconsin to assist WPS or remain in the area with another blast of winter weather in the forecast. MP Systems had mobilized in the area Sunday along with M.J. Electric and INTREN to deal with the more than 10,000 We Energies customers left without power due to the ice and snow that fell into Monday morning.

IRON MOUNTAIN — A light glaze of ice accumulation was expected as the National Weather Service on Tuesday issued a winter weather advisory in effect until 1 p.m. today in Iron, Dickinson, Menominee and Delta counties.

Mixed precipitation bringing total snow accumulations of 2 to 5 inches was expected starting at about 11 p.m. Tuesday.

“Wintry precipitation falling on previous ice storm areas could create additional road closures and power outages,” NWS forecasters said. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph during the storm.

The forecast calls for a high of 38 degrees today, with rain likely after 3 p.m. There is also a chance of rain or snow tonight, with a low of 32.

The outlook for Thursday is mostly cloudy with a high near 44 and winds gusting as high as 30 mph. More seasonable weather should settle in by the weekend, with highs in the 40s.

A storm that began late Saturday cut electricity for hundreds of thousands of people in the upper Great Lakes region.

The Dickinson County area, including Iron Mountain and Kingsford, was hit hard by freezing rain followed by several inches of snow. Precipitation brought down trees and power lines and crews sometimes restored power only to have it knocked out again.

Some We Energies customers had outages lasting more than a day, but by 7 p.m. Tuesday service was restored to all but 13 customers in Dickinson County and one in Menominee County.

Wisconsin Public Service, meanwhile, still listed 22,000 northern Wisconsin customers out of service but said it expected power to be restored by the end of the day Tuesday. The reported outages included 558 customers in Florence County, 5,154 in Marinette County and 6,449 in Forest County.

Outages in some areas have persisted since the start of the storm.

“Ice-covered trees and branches have snapped utility poles, downed power lines and damaged electric equipment across northcentral Wisconsin,” WPS said in a statement.

With crews out actively restoring power Tuesday, the utility said it was monitoring the possibility of more storms.

“We are ready to take action if these storms cause more power outages,” WPS said. “We are committed to working hard to restore power to out customers and will act quickly if any additional outages happen.”

Jessica Demler, emergency management coordinator in Marinette County, issued a news release Tuesday saying county agencies appreciate the dedication and effort of utility workers doing their best during challenging weather.

Drivers are urged to stay alert for downed trees or power lines on roads, Demler said.

“Assume all power lines are energized, even those on the ground,” she added.

Florence County continued to offer warming shelters Tuesday at town halls in Long Lake and Fence.

Fire response in Iron Mountain

Lake Antoine Road off U.S. 2 in Iron Mountain was blocked late Tuesday morning during an emergency response that witnesses said included fire trucks from neighboring municipalities.

As of early Tuesday evening, no report had been issued by authorities on the occurrence, which was believed to be a house fire.

Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.