Holy cow.
Took this from a Facebook post.
April 1st -- Mackinac Bridge is CLOSED due to falling ice! Northern Michigan remains frozen in place from this ice storm this past weekend. Still, nearly 200,000 customers remain without power in the state of Michigan due to the ice storm in the north over the weekend and severe weather Sunday in southern Michigan. It is an absolute mess in northern Michigan and crews and authorities are working around the clock with relief and powers restoration.
The Mackinac Bridge authorities state this was one of the worst icing events in history of the bridge. The outlook is not good with more snow and ice expected in northern Michigan Wednesday with another powerful early spring storm. Severe storms possible again across southern Michigan with the risk of damaging winds and possible tornadoes.
Comments
The Mackinac Bridge was closed initially for excessive wind and then the ice on the 5 mile long super structure. The main danger is when the ice melts and bombs the bridge deck in large chunks. One doesn't want to be driving the bridge then.
Beginning early Sunday: The UP had 12-18" of snow. The Mackinac Bridge area south to Gaylord (62 miles) and extending to the east and west had 1.5+" inches of ice. From the Flint area south to the Ohio border, straight line winds to 70mph and 4 tornados. These same storms came in from Lake Michigan north and south of Grand Rapids causing a lot of damage to these areas. There are 2 major utility companies and about 12 small, local utilities. The indicated peak outages was 400,000 outages, being an address for a business or multi person household. The outage numbers are still very high as of Tuesday at 11pm. The ice storm area is a real mess, with so many poles and cables down. These folks are going to be without power for some time.
Another serious aspect for this is that the homes and businesses without power are also without heat, which equals possible frozen water lines throughout the building. Very nasty.
More snow, ice, hail, high wind, and rain (2 inches +) tomorrow (Wednesday), including tornados in the forecast.
We're good right now, but there are a lot of tree pieces laying around the property.
Tuesday afternoon report from a relative:
There is still no power in Rogers City (east of Mackinac Bridge). Our friends are staying at our house. Cell phones just started working in some areas. No data access though. The stores are closed, and gas is being rationed to 10 gallons if the gas station is open and hasn't run out. People are driving to Bay City or Flint to buy generators (about 3 hours, one way). A party store is open, but you need cash to buy. No ATMs, CC or debit card usage.
There are many images and videos on YouTube.
Good evening,
Catch
Dan
“hank” departed for a week in Florida Thurs - a day before the ice arrived. Hoping things are reasonably normal on return. Ran across the unfortunate news inadvertently two days ago after trying unsuccessfully to call somebody back home. Freezing rain had been in the forecast … and I was glad to depart TVC a day before the storm. Only ice observed here is in a glass of Dewars. Cheers!
“Timing is everything.”
Heavy rains in Chicago will turn into more snow in Northern MI.
But the system is coming from TX & Gulf, so blame them.
The Independent
“ Extreme weather advisory
3 hours ago
Winter weather advisory
NWS Gaylord MI
* WHAT...Mixed precipitation expected. Total snow and sleet accumulations around one inch. A light glaze of ice across localized areas may be possible for a brief time early this afternoon. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph. * WHERE...A portion of Northern Lower Michigan. * WHEN...Until 5 PM EDT this afternoon. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions and reduced visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute. Strong wind gusts may also lead to additional downed trees and limbs that have been compromised by the recent icing for those areas impacted. ”
Re: Downed power lines mentioned by OJ …. A photo I looked at showed several power poles leaning over as if toppled by the weight of the ice.
My real concern is a line that runs thru 75+ feet of my woods to the house. I’m responsible for keeping it clear and do the best I can in the summer. But there’s a good chance that may be down when I get home. Have re-jiggered travel plans so as to arrive home in the morning instead of night. Do have a gas generator and enough fuel to run it a day or so if need be.
Lived through something like this in the Detroit metro area - err … maybe late 70s or early 80s. Catch might remember. But we suffered about 3 days as I remember. The damage in northern Michigan looks a lot more severe and widespread. God bless all the souls suffering.
Re: “How many glasses of Dewars?” I travel with a bunch of miniature “White Label”s because they are easy to obtain and inexpensive back home. However, I’ve set 1 aside to use for thawing out the lock on the door when I get back.
Hope things aren't too bad when you return home.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0rzXALcs8EqxrNSCdos71NF3GNjWzaP8QZLVdemNMKbT29Lm9YJfYpP1UPAazHzbVl&id=100079639007200
@hank- For sure... been there, done that. Cleaning out a stinking freezer with melted ice cream running out the door and spoiled expensive meat is really no fun at all. Very happy that you escaped all of that.
Some thoughts -
- Wondering how many have been seriously injured tripping over power cords during one of these unexpected events? Seems likely the biggest danger.
- I’d imagine a few have blown themselves up refueling a gas generator while it’s running. Fortunately I got away with it 4 or 5 times.
- I’d say electrocution is rare - but certainly possible if someone was completely unfamiliar with electricity and rules that that govern.
Thanks all for the support rendered.