No school closings in Washtenaw County today, but police expect tough morning commute

By Amalie Nash AnnArbor.com News Director

Posted on Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 5:10 a.m.

Anyone hoping for a snow day will wake disappointed this morning.

A winter storm dumped just over 3 inches of snow in the Ann Arbor area by this morning, but no Washtenaw County school districts called off classes today.

A pedestrian walks through the snow in Ann Arbor on Tuesday afternoon.

Numerous districts in the region did report school closings this morning — primarily in St. Clair and Monroe counties.

Michigan State Police officials said at 5 a.m. that roads were still quite slick, leading to numerous spinouts and crashes overnight.

No roads were closed as of 5 a.m., although a portion of eastbound I-94 from Ann Arbor-Saline Road to Jackson Road was closed for a crash at about 10 p.m. Tuesday. Details of that crash were not available.

State Police troopers said the morning commute is expected to be rough and urged drivers to exercise caution.

The 24-hour storm system tapered off after midnight, leaving 3 inches of snow on the ground in Ann Arbor and 3.4 inches in Dexter, said meteorologist Steve Considine of the National Weather Service in White Lake Township.

Higher snowfall totals were recorded elsewhere: 5 inches in Riverview, 4.7 inches at Detroit Metro Airport, 4.5 inches in Warren and 4.4 inches in Monroe.

"It was a pretty steady and light snow, nothing too heavy," Considine said of the storm.

Although this storm system has moved through, up to an inch of new snow may fall Thursday night, Considine said.