MONROE, Mich. (AP) - Southeastern Michigan may come near breaking a 133-year-old snowfall record as a fresh winter storm pushes across the region and brings up to 9 inches of snow, the National Weather Service predicted Tuesday.
The heaviest snowfall was forecast for the state’s southeastern corner just north of Toledo, Ohio, with 6-9 inches blanketing the Monroe area by the time the snow stops about 2 p.m. EDT Wednesday, the weather service said. It forecast 5-8 inches in Detroit and 4-7 inches in nearby Macomb, Oakland and Washtenaw counties.
Conditions statewide were overcast or rainy at 11 p.m. EDT Tuesday, with no signs of snow, the weather service said.
Cooler temperatures will follow the storm, with readings in the upper 20s later Wednesday, the weather service said. High temperatures reached the 50s in much of southern Michigan on Tuesday, with Detroit’s high hitting 55 degrees.
The storm will likely move the Detroit area close to the seasonal snow total of 93.6 inches set in 1880-1881, according to the weather service. So far, Detroit Metropolitan Airport has had 84.1 inches.
Michigan utilities were preparing for yet another wave of storm-related outages.
“We are keeping a close eye on the weather and making sure our crews and equipment are ready to move into areas if predicted heavy snow and winds cause power outages and downed power lines,” said Mary Palkovich, vice president for energy delivery at CMS Energy Corp.’s Consumers Energy unit, supplier of electricity and natural gas to 6.5 million of Michigan’s 10 million residents. “Local service centers are staffed and additional company and contractor crews are ready to restore.”
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