Ice Storm in Michigan, March 13 to 14, 1997

Low pressure tracked from the central Plains northeast across southeast lower Michigan late on the 13th through the 14th. The storm brought widespread precipitation to southeast Michigan from late on the 13th through midday on the 14th. North of Detroit, nearly all of the precipitation fell in the form of freezing rain, with small amounts of snow and sleet noted in a few spots. From Detroit and Ann Arbor south to the state-line, the freezing rain changed to rain, but not before heavy ice accumulations occurred. Total precipitation amounts ranged from 1.5 to nearly 2.5 inches from Detroit and Ann Arbor south to the Ohio state-line. From the northern suburbs of Detroit north to Flint and Port Huron, amounts ranged from 0.8 to 1.5 inches. North of that area, amounts ranged from 0.40 to 0.80 inches. In the Detroit Metropolitan area, the ice storm resulted in power outages to over 425,000 homes and businesses; the 3rd largest outage in history, and the worst ever for an ice storm. Several thousand residents were without power for as long as 4 days. In addition to powerlines, falling trees damaged dozens of cars and houses throughout the area. Most schools were closed, and there were numerous auto accidents.