Ice covered roads much like this overnight. That gives way to snow and wind with near whiteout conditions possible.
/ upnorthlive
NORTHERN MICHIGAN -- Well over 100 schools closed Tuesday across Northern Michigan as a bad combination of rain, icy roads, and wind driven snow led to a very slow go on Northern Michigan roads.
It was rain that was the issue Tuesday night with anywhere from 0.25-0.50" which fell over a rather deep snowpack. That combination led to icy roads along with ponding of water reported on some roads due to poor drainage.
The biggest complication for travel and those out and about Tuesday will be threefold. First and foremost, the rain and water on the roads will lock up in the form of ice as temperatures drop through the day. Secondly, a combination of system and lake effect snow will fall with the highest totals downwind of Lakes Superior/Michigan along/west of Interstate-75. The final factor will be the strong northwest winds which are wrapping around our storm system. Those winds will race in gusting in the 35-45 mph range leading to near whiteout conditions across the region.
Snow totals will be highest over the next 48 hours in the snowbelts of NW Lower Michigan and the Eastern U.P. where 6-12" of snow is possible in spots. Snow will be significantly lighter to the South/East where Houghton Lake and Alpena may only see an inch or two of accumulation.
Both the snow and wind will relent late Wednesday with sunshine returning to Northern Michigan Thursday. If you have any snow totals or weather reports from your neighborhood, please share them with us on our upnorthlive facebook page or tweet us @upnorthlive or send us an email at weather@upnorthlive.com
