Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 17, 2000

More snow. As the low moved to the east, arctic air returned to the Great Lakes, changing precipitation back to snow. A strong upper level disturbance enhanced snowfall during the early morning hours of the 17th. Snowfall amounts were as high as 7 inches in Wheeler, Akron, Fairgrove Township (Tuscola County), Corunna, Bay City, Saginaw, and Flint. In the Tri-Cities area, high winds combined with the snow to drift many roads shut, and to snap off snow-covered tree limbs. About 7000 homes lost power. In Flint, the weight of the accumulated snow collapsed the roof of a banquet room at a Ramada Inn. A home patio roof also gave way in Flint. Much of the rest of southeast Michigan saw 2 to 4 inches of snow. A furniture/appliance/electronics store in Tecumseh saw its roof collapse under the snow. The storm contributed to dozens of accidents on Washtenaw County roads.This storm would be the last big one of the month, though another few inches would fall here and there. A low pressure system would drop 2 to 4 inches of snow on the night of the 18th into the morning of the 19th. A lake effect snow event would produce isolated reports of heavy snow in the Thumb just before the New Year. Detroit would end the month with 25.1 inches of snow, making it the 3rd snowiest December on record, dating back to 1870. But both Flint and Saginaw had that beat. With 35.3 and 40.3 inches of snow respectively, both cities set all time snowfall records for ANY month.The snow would cause problems across southeast Michigan for weeks to come. The sheer volume of it was difficult to handle, and the process of moving it out of the way became difficult (and expensive), as there was almost no place to put it. Many communities used the majority of their snow removal budget, and their road salt supply, during December. There were fears that both would run out if the winter did not calm down. In Lenawee County, snow removal expenditures were greater in December 2000 than for all of the previous winter. Ice dams and water seepage confounded thousands of businesses and homeowners well into January. Several house fires erupted when meltwater seeped into electric meter boxes.