'It's Ugly Out There': Rochester Gets 13 Inches of Snow

Even police vehicles had difficulty in a heavy wet snow that blanketed metro Detroit Sunday. (Photo by @MissCoryCoffey via Twitter)

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Schools and colleges are closed and shovelers were out in the predawn hours digging metro Detroit communities out from nearly 17 inches of snow, the third-biggest snowstorm in the area’s history and a record for Feb. 1-2.

The record snowfall – 24.5 inches – was set in 1886. The second-biggest snowstorm was Dec. 1-2, 1974, when 19.3 inches fell, the Detroit Free Press reports. It’s the first time in a decade that more than a foot of snow has been recorded at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, The Oakland Press reports.

The 16.7-foot total was measured at the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Some of the reports included 16.5 inches at Wyandotte, 14.5 inches in Shelby Township, 13.1 inches in Rochester, and 11.5 inches in Novi, WXYZ-TV reports.

Winds are causing considerable blowing and drifting of snow, making travel and snow removal difficult and creating miserable wind chill temperatures of around 15 degrees below zero throughout the morning hours. Tonight, expect lows or -2 degrees and southwest southwest winds of 5 to 10 mh.

Michigan State Police spokesman Lt. Michael Shaw said there were a number of minor spin-out accidents, but there have been no injuries. He said white-out conditions will continue and visibility will drop to zero at times in the Tri-County.

Michigan Department of Transportation plows have been on the roads since the snow began falling Sunday morning, working 12- and 16-hour shifts. Winds are expected to persist through the morning hours, causing drifting that complicates the work of plow drivers.

In Oakland County, the cleanup could take several days, Road Commission for Oakland County spokesman Craig Bryson said.

The RCOC had 50 trucks on the roads form about 3 a.m. Sunday through 2 a.m. Monday morning, then put the entire fleet of 100 trucks out. Road graders and private contractors are also helping with the cleanup, The Detroit News

Primary roads will be cleared first, then the focus will shift to subdivisions, Bryson said.

In Macomb County, road workers are on their second 16-hour shift. The main roads are passable, but still need work, roads director Leo Ciavatta said. Subdivisions are “in bad shape,” he said.

“The wind is really giving us problems,” he said, advising motorists to “take it slow because it’s ugly out there.”

Before heading out to the airport, call ahead or check the status of your flight on a service such as FlightAware.com. Air travel has also been delayed at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport and other metropolitan airports from the Midwest to new England. Some departures were cancelled, but most were arrivals from airports in the eastern part of the country.

The storm that pounded metro Detroit slammed large swaths of the Midwest with more than a foot of snow and was headed toward southern New England on the heels of one last week that buried parts of Long Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts under up to 30 inches of snow.

Related:

• Snow Big Deal? Snowfall Could Rank Among Chicago’s Top 10, says National Weather Service

Thousands of students in Michigan’s public schools and universities got a day off Monday.

The Michigan Legislature was not in session Monday, nor were the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals offices in Lansing, Detroit, Grand Rapids and Troy. Several metro Detroit courthouses are closed, WDIV-TV reports, including:

• 3rd Judicial Court of Wayne County
• 36th District Court in Detroit
• 30th District Court in Highland Park
• 20th District Court in Dearborn Heights
• 31st District Court in Hamtramck
• 35th District Court in Plymouth
• 50th District Court in Pontiac
• 18th District Court in Westland
• 33rd District Court in Woodhaven
• 38th District Court in Eastpointe

Secretary of State Offices in communities that declared snow emergencies – virtually all of those in the southern third of the state. Social Security offices in southeast Michigan are also closed.

Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said Michiganders can conduct transactions online at ExpressSOS.com. Services include

• Change their address
• Obtain a duplicate vehicle registration
• Renew license plates/tabs
• Renew or replace a standard driver’s license
• Renew or replace a state ID
• Renew watercraft registrations
• Order a replacement title
• Sign up on Michigan’s Organ Donor Registry

More snow is in the forecast for Tuesday night into Wednesday, with up to three additional inches possible, according to the National Weather Service.

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