Traverse City Record-Eagle

Breaking News in 2009

December 9, 2009

6:25 pm: Area receives no respite from snow

BY LINDSAY VANHULLE and SHERI McWHIRTER

TRAVERSE CITY -- Maurice Chriss drove his car from his Interlochen home to appointments in Traverse City because his fiancee's vehicle needs snow tires and new windshield wipers.

The wipers worked well enough Tuesday, Rebecca Hammond said, but that was before the season's first major snowstorm blew through.

It's a pain now, Chriss said, but the region is known for its winters.

"I didn't get a chance to hang more Christmas lights," he said. "The snow is here, and it's here to stay."

And more is on the way.

The system that moved through the region Wednesday should become lake-effect snow Thursday, with an additional 4 to 8 inches expected depending on location, said Mike Boguth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord.

Most of Thursday's snow will impact areas northeast of Traverse City, including snow-belt communities in Antrim, Kalkaska and Otsego counties, Boguth said. Gusty winds will cause blowing and drifting conditions across local roads.

Fresh powder would top the roughly 6 to 9 inches recorded throughout the region in a low-pressure storm that began late Tuesday.

Almost 6 inches of snow had fallen in Traverse City by 9 a.m. Wednesday, with 4.5 inches reported in Alba, 9 inches in Lake Ann and 8 inches in Maple City, Boguth said.

Two to 4 additional inches were expected by late Wednesday.

The Grand Traverse County Road Commission was at full staff Wednesday to tackle snow-covered arteries.

But crews work 12-hour shifts, which meant many trucks were expected to be off local roadways by Wednesday evening, said Mary Gillis, road commission manager.

"We have a skeleton night crew," Gillis said.

The Benzie County Road Commission had 16 trucks scatter sand and salt on roads Wednesday.

As snow continues to accumulate, trucks will remain on the roads Thursday, said Bob Weaver, road commission manager.

At one point Wednesday morning, 440 Cherryland Electric customers lost power, said spokesman Nick Edson, but restoration times were quick.

And 53 Consumers Energy customers were without power in Grand Traverse County shortly after 1:30 p.m., spokesman Tim Pietryga said.

The weather also played havoc with operations at Cherry Capital Airport, executive director Stephen Cassens said. At least half of the airport's scheduled flights were canceled during the day, and more were possible into the evening.

"There's been cancellations throughout the day," Cassens said. "When the hubs are having trouble, that can affect operations at the outlying airports."

All public school districts and many, if not all, private and charter schools in the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District closed Wednesday, said Shanna Janowiak, an ISD human resources secretary.

Some students were grateful for the snow day.

Ean, 9, and Alena Fritch, 6, coasted down the sledding hill at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center on Wednesday.

The siblings, who attend two Traverse City public schools, repeatedly flew down the hill, collapsed in the deep snow and then climbed back up to go again.

Their father, Eric Fritch, said the family also planned to drink hot chocolate and build a snowman.

"It's fun because there's no school work and we get to play in the snow all day," Ean said.

Some Northwestern Michigan College instructors canceled classes Wednesday morning, but not all.

Brittany Kritz, of Traverse City, said she couldn't use the storm as an excuse to skip class.

"I would have, but I have a presentation today, so I had to come for the sake of the other students in my group," she said. "Hopefully, they will be here."

Residents spent Wednesday trying to clear driveways and vehicles buried beneath thick, wet snow.

Andrew Fritzsche, of Kalkaska, bent low to heave a heavy scoop of snow from the sidewalk in front of Cornell's Crossing gift store downtown.

Fritzsche wasn't surprised by the heavy snowfall -- it was just as weather officials predicted -- and said it doesn't bother him.

"It's very fascinating how the big storms come and go," said Fritzsche, who expected to keep shoveling for much of the day.

Kalkaska resident Janet Keel stopped at McLean's Hardware to buy a new shovel. Her four-wheel drive vehicle made it easy to get out Wednesday morning, she said.

"It's beautiful. We live in this kind of country," she said. "This isn't as bad as it was last year."

McLean's employee Don Hockey said customers came in Wednesday morning searching for equipment to tackle the heavy snow.

The first customer arrived when the store opened at 7:30 a.m., while he was busy clearing the sidewalk out front, Hockey said.

More customers than usual stopped at the Interlochen EZ Mart and gas station on Tuesday evening, manager Deanna Rice said.

She lives in Interlochen and invited employees to stay with her the night the storm hit. One accepted.

"They were pumping a lot of gas," she said of customers. "You never know if you're going to get snowed in."

Staff writers Alex Piazza and Bill O'Brien contributed to this report.

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