Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Michigan, January 2 to 3, 1999

A strong low pressure system moved from the mid Mississippi Valley on the morning of the 2nd, to northern Lake Huron by the afternoon of the 3rd. This low produced very heavy snow across most of the southern Great Lakes, and southeast Michigan was no exception.Snow developed from south to north across southeast Michigan during the daylight hours of the 2nd. A combination of snow, blowing snow, and wind produced blizzard conditions across the metro Detroit area in the early afternoon. The winds subsided slightly as the snow intensified, but near-blizzard conditions were the rule into the overnight hours. The strong wind throughout the storm made it very difficult to measure snowfall accurately.With temperatures in the teens across most of the area, the snow was very fluffy and dry - which is unusual for Michigan heavy snow events. An exception occurred late in the evening of the 2nd, as a surge of warmer air struggled into extreme southeast Michigan. Temperatures rose to around freezing for a few hours, and some freezing rain occurred in Monroe County. Thundersnow at the leading edge of warm air surge added to snowfall totals in the far southeast. Cold air returned to this corner of the state soon after midnight.Snowfall amounts by county: Bay County: 11" in Essexville; 9" in Linwood and Bay City. Genesee County: 7 to 10" in the Fenton/Linden area; 9" in Flushing and Flint. Huron County: 10" near Kinde and Verona; 7" in Bad Axe; 6" in Port Hope. Lapeer County: 12" in Imlay City; anywhere from 6 to 12" near the city of Lapeer; 9" in Dryden. Lenawee County: 16" in Tecumseh; 14" in Clinton; 12" in Hudson and Morenci; 10" in Adrian. Livingston County: 10" in Brighton; 8" in Howell. Macomb County: 17" near Mt Clemens; 15" in Roseville; 12" in Romeo, Richmond, and St Clair Shores; 11" near New Baltimore. Midland County: 10" in the city of Midland; 7" in Mount Haley Township. Monroe County: 14" in Milan Township; 13" in the city of Monroe and Dundee. Oakland County: 15" in Royal Oak; 14" in Ferndale; 13" in South Lyon; 12" in Milford, Clarkston, and White Lake; 11" in West Bloomfield; 10" in Rochester Hills, Farmington, and Waterford; 8" in Holly and Oxford. St Clair County: 13" in Port Huron; 11" in Ruby; 6 to 12" in Yale; 8" in Avoca. Saginaw County: 10" in Frankenmuth; 9" in St Charles; 8" in the city of Saginaw; 6" in Freeland. Sanilac County: 9 to 11" in Marlette; 7 to 10" in Sandusky; 9" in Croswell; 7" in Brown City. Shiawassee County: 9" in Owosso; 6 to 9" in Byron; 7" in Morrice; 6" in Corunna. Tuscola County: 9 to 11" in Caro; 9" in Cass City; 8" in Akron; 7 to 9" in Vassar; 7" in Millington. Washtenaw County: 16" in Ann Arbor; 15" in Dexter; 13 to 16" in Saline; 12" in Ypsilanti. Wayne County: 14" in Plymouth; 12 to 14" in Northville; 13" in Dearborn; 12" in Westland, Harper Woods, Canton, Wyandotte, and Grosse Pointe Farms; 11" in Romulus.Drifts up to seven feet high were reported in Lenawee, Monroe, and Washtenaw Counties. President Clinton would eventually declare Lenawee, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties as federal disaster areas.All told, this was one of the worst snowstorms of the past 25 years, and the effects were far-reaching. The storm was well advertised, and a run on grocery stores occurred early in the day. Many stores ran out of staples like bread and milk. Most businesses closed their doors early on the 2nd, to allow employees to get home while they still could. After the snow, the run was on snow removal equipment, with snowblowers, shovels, and salt all very hard to find. The weight of the snow tore a gash in the roof of the Pontiac Silverdome. Festivities surrounding the inaugural of Governor John Engler were postponed. Most schools closed the Monday and Tuesday after the storm (the 2nd was a Saturday), and some schools stayed closed for Wednesday as well.Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) was severely impacted by the storm. DTW remained open on the 2nd, but visibility at DTW, combined with deteriorating conditions at other airports in the region, resulted in few (if any) incoming and outgoing flights from afternoon on. After closing to clean the runways on the morning of the 3rd (a Sunday), DTW reopened to incoming flights. Unfortunately, although the runways were clear, an insufficient number of arrival/departure gates were usable. By the time this was realized, and incoming air traffic halted, close to 50 planes had landed at DTW without a place to disembark. In an incident that received national media attention, some passengers were stranded in their planes for eight hours until they could disembark. Full operations at DTW would not be resumed until the 6th.The heavy snow also focused media attention on the city of Detroit. According to city policy, residential streets were not plowed after a heavy snow. This resulted in effectively shutting down parts of the city for almost two weeks, as residents could not get out of their neighborhoods and onto the main streets. Schools were closed for days, as students could not safely get to and from school. In the wake of the storm, this snow-removal policy was being reassessed.