At right: The St. Ignace city Christmas tree was downed by the storm, but was put back in place Friday, December 11. Heavy snows and strong winds stormed through Mackinac County throughout the day Wednesday, December 9, closing schools and resulting in brief power outages in the county.

No accidents were reported from the storm, as most people stayed home and off the roads, said Mackinac County Sheriff Scott Strait. South of the Mackinac Bridge, Mackinaw City Police Officer John House reported the same, although a few cars went off the road south of Mackinaw City.

The storm began Tuesday night and peaked Wednesday morning, said Kevin Sullivan, a meteorologist with the Gaylord National Weather Service, leaving eight to 12 inches of snow in areas of Mackinac County. The northwest lower Michigan area saw accumulations of nearly two feet. The storm transitioned into lake effect snow by Wednesday night and into Thursday, impacting western Mackinac County and areas south of the bridge.

The Mackinac Bridge was closed to high profile vehicles during the early morning hours Wednesday . Vehicles most susceptible, such as vans with high side walls and pickup trucks with caps, were not allowed to cross the bridge from 3:45 a.m. to 6:44 a.m. when winds were above 50 miles per hour. After 6:44 a.m., winds dropped to the mid- to upper-40- miles-per-hour range. Vehicle escorts were provided until 12:40 p.m. Thursday, escorts were provide from 4:55 a.m. to 6:51 a.m., and later that evening from 7:38 p.m. to 7:09 p.m. Friday.

The highest wind gust recorded at the bridge was 69 miles per hour.

The wind was powerful enough to knock down several trees in St. Ignace. The community Christmas tree snapped a few feet from its base and tumbled to the ground Wednesday. It was reset Friday using guy wires, said Director of Public Works Les Therrian. Another tree near the Quality Inn Lakefront on North State Street fell to the wind, as well.

Several power outages occurred throughout the day Wednesday in Mackinac County. St. Ignace experienced electrical outages caused by the high winds in the early morning. Many lasted an hour to an hour and a half, according to Edison Sault Electric Company.

Several short outages were reported in Cedarville and Curtis by Cloverland Electric Cooperative .

Boat service from St. Ignace to Mackinac Island was canceled Wednesday. Arnold Transit canceled its first boat at 7:30 a.m., and then completely canceled service for the day by 10 a.m.

All schools in the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District closed for for the day Wednesday, except Mackinac Island Public School . Mackinaw City Public Schools closed Wednesday and Thursday.