Metro Detroit digs out from area's 3rd-biggest snowstorm

The third-biggest snowstorm in metro Detroit's recorded history has plows humming among tall snow piles on roadways across southeastern Michigan this morning.

Most metro-area schools and colleges are closed, including Wayne State University, University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University.

By 9 a.m., the storm had cleared, leaving blue skies with bitter cold. Temperatures have already peaked at about 18 degrees and are to stick in the mid-teens this morning, said meteorologist Cory Behnke with the National Weather Service.

With 16.7 inches of snow since the storm arrived early Sunday, it's the most to fall since Dec. 1 and 2 in 1974, when 19.3 inches fell, as recorded at Detroit Metro Airport. The snowiest was April 6, 1886, when 24.5 inches were reported, Behnke said. The records date to 1880.

Plow trucks have been working 12- and 16-hour shifts on area highways since Sunday morning, said Diane Cross with Michigan Department of Transportation. Drifting snow is complicating their work, but she said this morning's lower-than-normal traffic volumes have made it easier to catch up.

"We're doing the best we can to stay on top of it," she said, adding that drivers are advised to leave space around the plow trucks and other motorists as well as clean snow off their cars to make themselves more visible. "We've had a number of spin-outs since yesterday."

No major traffic problems are reported, but semi trucks have had trouble getting up the ramp from east M-14 to northbound and southbound I-275 in the Livonia area, Cross said.

More snow is coming Tuesday night, when Behnke said to expect about 1 to 2 inches. Temperatures are to be in the lower 20s on Tuesday, reaching 30 degrees Thursday before falling back to the teens.

Henry Ford Health System had two cases of cold exposures, David Olejarz, manager of media relations wrote in an email.

He said operating rooms are fully operational, but there have been some elective surgery and outpatient appointment cancellations by patients.

Though it had some call-ins, staff are coming in as the streets where they live are cleared. Some midnight shift workers offered to stay over until dayshift workers arrived. The husband of a Henry Ford Hospital nurse offered to pick up nurses in his truck and bring them to work, Olejarz wrote.

"Overall, we're managing OK," he wrote.

In Harper Woods, 10 to 15 of the approximately 20 employees at Harper Woods Veterinary Hospital made it in to work, receptionist Charlene Gray said.

She said it's not a normal busy Monday, but people are making afternoon appointments for their pets because they are home today.

The hospital serves many residents in Detroit, Grosse Pointe, Harper Woods, St. Clair Shores and Roseville.

Gray said it was "kinda crazy" driving this morning. Once a person made it out of the driveway, they had another fight on their hands with the side streets, she said, but main roads were better.

Shovelers on the sidewalks and plows in the streets of downtown Detroit were already at work by 5 a.m., where even undrifted areas were shin-high.

The snowfall hasn't stopped preparations for Meridian Winter Blast at Campus Martius Park, where two large snow-making machines were spraying a ramp at 6 a.m. in the heart of downtown Detroit.

Detroit Metro Airport remained open although there were numerous flight cancellations. Flight Aware reported that flight delays at Metro are excessive with 93 departures and 109 arrivals canceled today, plus more than 80 arrivals and departures delayed. That means that about 18% of flights today at airport had been canceled.

As Lansing-area residents dug out from more than a foot of snow, many state employees got a rare snow day.

The Legislature announced it was closing its offices Sunday evening. The administration quickly followed suit, closing state offices in areas where snow emergencies were declared - roughly the southern third of state offices in Michigan.

The state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals also closed its offices in Lansing, Detroit, Grand Rapids and Troy.

The Secretary of State offices in communities that declared snow emergencies, as well as the Lansing-based Department of State Information Center, are closed today, according to a news release. Customers are advised to use the website for such tasks as changing address, renewing identification and more.

And while the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor cancelled classes Monday, Michigan State University in East Lansing only suspended early morning classes. Students were expected to brave the snow and get to classes after noon.

In Macomb County, main roads have been plowed but some streets through subdivisions were still clogged with snow by about 9 a.m. The same was reported in Oakland County, where subdivisions were to start getting plowed at about noon.

"The forecast of low temperatures over night tonight is a concern, and we are only salting in some areas in an effort to avoid creating slush that will refreeze tonight," according to an email from Craig Bryson, Oakland County Road Commission spokesman.

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said this morning that county offices are open, parking lots are plowed and "we're here to help people."

He said employees who can't make it in can take the day off. Attorneys and clients who may have to come to court may want to check to make sure there wasn't a change in the judge's docket because of the weather.

Hackel, who was on Groesbeck in Mt. Clemens, said snow remains on roads, but they are getting plowed. He said salt really didn't make an impact with this snowfall.

He said the county planned it out so that 30 to 40 plow trucks were on the roads on a consistent basis yesterday, last night and today.

"Today, we're making sure we're getting as many lanes open as possible," Hackel said, adding that crews are making sure intersections are accessible for turning.

He said crews will start getting to subdivisions, which are worse than main roads.

Hackel said he was pulling into a Tim Hortons to grab a coffee and while the road was open, a few vehicles were stuck in the parking lot entering the road.

He said he had not heard of any deaths reported from people clearing snow.

In some communities, including Grosse Pointe Farms, garbage and recycling collection will be delayed a day because of the snow, with Friday's normal collection to be picked up Saturday.

The city of Sterling Heights is opening non-emergency locations, including city hall, the library, parks and recreation and the senior center at 11 a.m. today. A smart meter meeting scheduled today at the library has been canceled; no new meeting date has been set, said Bridget Doyle, the city's community relations director. The district court in Sterling Heights is also closed.

Macomb County Meals on Wheels and its sister program, Dining Senior Style, are canceled today, according to a news release.

The programs benefit 2,000 seniors. The 1,600 Meals on Wheels recipients received a phone call this morning alerting them. They received a box of shelf-stable meals in December for cancellation days.

"The massive amount of snow, paired with the forecasted cold temperatures and gusty winds, makes meal delivery unsafe today," said Rhonda Powell, director of the county's Community Services Agency. "Many of the roads are impassable and our volunteers are unable to leave their homes."

Tonight's State of the City at Eastpointe Manor has been cancelled because of the weather, according to Eastpointe's Twitter account. No new date listed.

Eastpointe and Shelby Township among the metro Detroit communities where refuse will be collected one day later this week, according to their Twitter feeds.

And, a friendly reminder to St. Clair Shores residents from the city's Facebook page: "Please, angle your snowblower so that it does NOT blow snow back into the street after the snow plows have cleared your street. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION!"

Christina Hall, Kathleen Gray and Ellen Creager contributed to this report.

Contact Robert Allen at rallen@freepress.com or @rallenMI

Some snow around Michigan

Some snow totals in inches from a winter storm that hit Michigan on Sunday and Monday, according to the National Weather Service:

Battle Creek: 18.5

Hastings: 18

Wayne County's Brownstown Township: 17.0

Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus: 16.7

Paw Paw: 15.8

Macomb County's Shelby Township: 15.5

Kalamazoo: 15

Ann Arbor: 14.1

Lansing: 12

Oakland County's White Lake Township: 11.2

Howell: 10.2

Flint: 9.2

Grand Rapids: 9.1

Saginaw: 7.5

Source: National Weather Service offices in Grand Rapids, suburban Detroit.