February 3, 2007
Wyandotte, Michigan
Photographer states :: A blizzardous squall accompanied the arctic front in southeast MI...it is BITTERLY cold!!!
Cold weather blasts Michigan, causes 50-car pileups
Santiago Esparza / The Detroit News
There is a wind chill advisory in effect through Sunday as the wind teams up with dropping temperatures to make it feel like 20 degrees below zero, according to the National Weather Service in White Lake Township.
"It's real bad," said meteorologist Karen Kahl. "It will stay like that until Tuesday when we have high temperatures of 11 to 15 degrees. That will be the beginning of a rebound for us."
There is a lake effect snow advisory in Oakland, Livingston and Washtenaw counties today and the weather service expects three to six inches of snow to fall in those areas before Sunday night. That will mean low visibility on roads, Kahl said.
Temperatures today are expected to drop to slightly above 0 degrees, according to AccuWeather. There is a blizzard warning on the western side of the state until 10 p.m. today because there are winds gusting at up to 47 mph.
Today's hockey game between the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Peoria Rivermen was postponed because of the weather. It was the fourth time in 11 years that nasty weather forced the Griffins to reschedule a game, team officials said.
Michigan State Police dispatchers said as of 5 p.m. today, they had not received many calls about car accidents. However, they are getting reports across Metro Detroit of vehicles breaking down.
In Kent County, sheriff's deputies and Michigan State Police troopers handled two separate 50-car pileups today. Investigators blamed them on blizzard-like conditions.
Several people were hurt, but none had life-threatening injuries, a sheriff's dispatcher said.
You can reach Santiago Esparza at (313) 222-2127 or sesparza@detnews.com.
