Winter Storm Warning: Metro Detroit Prepares For Major Snowfall

SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) - Preparations are underway across metro Detroit for a sizable winter storm expected to hit on Wednesday.

A Winter Storm Warning has been issued by the National Weather Service, in effect from 9 a.m. Wednesday until 11 a.m. Thursday for Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Washtenaw counties.  A Winter Weather Advisory for Detroit and other areas of Southeast Michigan will be in effect for the same time period.

Total snow accumulations around 10 inches are expected north of the M-59 corridor and west of Detroit. To the south, lesser amounts of 4 to 8 inches are expected. The city of Detroit and Monroe County are only expected to see maybe 2 to 4.

"We've got quite a storm," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Dave Bowers, Tuesday afternoon. "This is still just northeast of Houston, Texas, and it's going to make a beeline toward us."

At Road Commission for Oakland County, Craig Bryson said his crews will be ready to work 16 hours straight if the accumulation estimations are correct.

He told WWJ's Laura Bonnell they're listening to weather reports and always have a plan.

"We'll have our full crew on staff, which means we'll be able to put 106 trucks out on the road. We've also got private contractors under contract that are on standby if we need them to come help on the back roads, so potentially subdivision streets, if needed," Bryson said.

To those who are tempted — when getting hit with a spray of salt or water behind a plow — to race around it, Bryson says be careful.

"We warn people not to try to pass a plow truck on the right," he said. "Some of our trucks these days have wing plows, which extend out the righthand side of the body, and you can't always see from behind whether or not they have a wing plow — and that can be catastrophic if you try to pass a truck with a wing plow on the right."

While the weather is good on Tuesday, Bryson said they're patching up potholes, cleaning up drains and looking over equipment.

In neighboring Macomb County, Warren Mayor Jim Fouts said they're safety checking all Department of Public Works trucks and making sure the proper equipment is ready to go — including all plows, plow blades, plow wheels, grease and salt.

"I received an update on weather projections for Warren and it doesn't look real friendly for Wednesday and Thursday," Fouts said, in a Facebook post.

Fouts said snow emergency will be declared after four inches and, at that time, all cars must be removed from city streets. Police will ticket any violators.

"We will be plowing ahead of the garbage routes," Fouts said. "Our first priority will be the main roads, 1/2 mile roads and access routes. Upon completion of these will be neighborhoods."

AccuWeather says blowing and drifting snow is possible — with gusty winds up to 30 mph. — and snow removal could be difficult because the snow is expected to be wet and heavy.

Bowers said it will all begin with rain Wednesday morning, changing over to snow when it cools down. "The question is, how much of that can we get to accumulate, and right now it looks like perhaps 4 to 8 inches...but that's still enough to make a mess of the Thursday morning commute."

Don't get caught in the storm: Keep it tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest forecast during traffic and weather, every 10 minutes on the 8s. See the live, local radar now at this link.

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