Blizzard Closes Schools, Businesses in EUP January 30
By Paul Gingras

Norm Kolatski (right) and Norm Simons, MDOT workers, stand in the blustery winter storm, diverting traffic away from US-2 near the St. Ignace Golf Course Wednesday, January 30. US-2 was closed until noon Thursday, January 31.

Schools, government offices, roads, and businesses were closed when an unusually strong arctic cold front sent a blizzard into Lower Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula Wednesday, January 30. The storm produced winds spikes that reached 79 miles per hour at the Mackinac Bridge, closing it for much of the early morning to trucks. Only about three inches of snow fell in most of the county, but the winds created white-out conditions and wind chills averaged 20 to 30 degrees below zero throughout the storm zone, reported Kevin Sullivan of the National Weather Service in Gaylord.

The Eastern Upper Peninsula and western Lower Michigan were hardest hit, he said.

The storm impacted deliveries as well as travel in the area, as truck traffic was halted from crossing the Mackinac Bridge, delaying shipment of U.S. mail, newspapers, and other goods for several hours.

With the exception of this man pushing a bicycle, few people ventured out of their homes in the Eastern Upper Peninsula Wednesday, January 30, as a winter storm blew through the region, creating white-out conditions like those shown here along Meridian Road in Cedarville. Michigan State Police advised motorists to keep off roads throughout the day, so road crews could plow.

Several traffic accidents leading to injuries resulted from the storm.

Sergeant Ken Laninga of the St. Ignace Michigan State Police post reported three traffic accidents on I-75 between M-134 and the Mackinac County line Tuesday night, January 29. In one, an injured woman was transferred to War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie by ambulance. The others involved damaged vehicles and resulted in no injuries. One accident occurred Wednesday. Four took place Thursday, including a rollover on M-123 north of Moran, in which three people were sent to the hospital for treatment. Two sustained minor injuries, Sergeant Laninga said.

This Ford pickup was driven off US-2 and about 30 yards onto the ice of Lake Michigan near the Sand Dunes area during a severe winter storm that produced white-out conditions Wednesday, January 30. No one was injured.

Rumors of tickets of being issued by the State Police during an alleged closure of I-75 were untrue, reported the St. Ignace and Gaylord State Police stations. Gaylord reported that I-75 was closed for only minutes at a time, to pull cars out of ditches.

The Mackinac Bridge was closed to high profile vehicles, such as trucks, for almost eight hours, from 2:55 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., as winds were sustained at about 57 miles per hour, with higher spikes.

The Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) began escorting vehicles across the span at 2:20 a.m. Wednesday, before closing it to some vehicles 35 minutes later. With a total of 1,708 crossings Wednesday, traffic on the bridge was at its lowest level in 10 years, or possibly longer, reported Bob Sweeney, MBA executive secretary.

In terms of snowfall and poor visibility on area roads, a portion of US-2 between Brevort Village and St. Ignace was the hardest hit, said Doug Noble, maintenance supervisor for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) in St. Ignace.

Pictured here is a portion of US-2 that was hit hard by a blizzard Wednesday, January 30. Eight semitrucks and a pickup were stranded between St. Ignace and Brevort Village.

"It was like driving with a blanket over your head," he said.

Mr. Noble left Brevort for St. Ignace at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. Owing to extreme wind and snowfall, it took him three hours to reach the city, about 22 miles away. There were eight semi-trucks buried in the snow and waiting for assistance, he said. He didn't see any stuck cars.

A Ford pickup went off US-2 and traveled about 30 yards onto Lake Michigan, where its front tires broke through the ice.

There was no damage to the truck, and no injuries, Sergeant Laninga said.

Mr. Noble closed US-2 at 11:15 a.m. Wednesday. When the wind and snowfall died down temporarily around 4 p.m., MDOT went in with a loader and a grader and got the vehicles and their drivers out.

Clark Township worker Tony Hamel steers the township's snowblower through heavy snow fall Wednesday, January 30, as he clears Cedarville sidewalks along M-134. Parts of the township received nearly a foot of snow in an overnight and morning winter storm that stopped most traffic as local, county, and state plowing crews tried to clear the roads. High winds created blizzard conditions throughout the day, especially along the lakeshore, and blew snow back onto roads after it was cleared.

Visibility worsened and winds increased Wednesday afternoon, so US-2 remained closed Wednesday night. It was reopened Thursday.

A detour was sent up, running from St. Ignace to M-123, to Worth Road.

To clear the road, MDOT sent a grader and two plows west from St. Ignace Thursday. A plow was sent east from Engadine.

Two semi-trucks were hit by a plow as MDOT crews labored to clear US-2. The banks were packed so hard that a plow deflected off one of them and hit the trucks. All three vehicles were damaged, Mr. Noble said.

"The main challenge for MDOT was getting US-2 closed," he added.

Local businesses provided MDOT workers on US-2 with coffee and soup. Drivers were proceeding cautiously throughout the storm, Mr. Noble said.

"For the conditions we were in, everyone did an outstanding job," he added.

US-2 was reopened Thursday afternoon.

Karrie Abbitt, manager of the Mackinac County Road Commission, said snowdrifts were worst in open areas and intersections.

Schools in Engadine, Cedarville, Mackinaw City, Moran, St. Ignace, Mackinac Island, and many others in the state were closed all day Wednesday.

Harsh weather this winter has resulted in more school closings than usual for some districts.

"Normally, we close once a year, maybe twice," said Mike Springsteen, superintendent of St. Ignace Area Schools. "We have closed three times this year, which is unusual for us."

Barbara Fisher, secretary and bookkeeper at Mackinac Island Public School, said Wednesday's closure marked the third time the district has closed in her 20 years of there.

"It is a very rare thing for us to close," said Superintendent Roger Schrock, but owing to the wind chill factor and snowfall, conditions were far too dangerous for children to go to school.

Jeff Curth, superintendent of Mackinaw City Public Schools, said the district has been closed for 3.5 days this year, about 1.5 days longer than a typical year.

No mail was delivered through the St. Ignace or Sault Ste. Marie post offices Wednesday, St. Ignace Postmaster Billy Norton said, as no mail was transported over the bridge.