BY alex piazza
Traverse City -- Nancy Stone drove eight hours to gather with family for Christmas.
Stone made the lengthy trip from her home in Illinois to Mancelona on Tuesday.
"The roads were fine, but who knows if they'll be that way on my way back," she said.
Her plans include a return trip home on Sunday, but clear roads might be at a premium, since a winter storm is expected to hit northwest Michigan early Friday, weather experts said.
"It's going to allow a lot more mixed precipitation to move in," said Jeff Halblaud, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord. "We could have anything from snow, to freezing rain, to rain."
Mixed precipitation is expected to start around 3 a.m. Friday and last until about noon in Traverse City, Halblaub said. That could make for a slippery Christmas morning.
Al Heckl plans to welcome several family members to his Northport home today. But their visit could be extended if the roads become too icy, he said.
"We're going to make room for everybody in case they can't make it out the next day," he said.
Heckl understands how dangerous Michigan winters can be, so he keeps a generator in his basement.
He worries ice could accumulate on trees and cause broken branches and snapped power lines.
But veterans of northwest Michigan winters like Heckl prepare themselves for whatever Mother Nature brings.
"We're set. I've got it all down pretty good," he said.
Farmington Hills resident Mollie Brendel and her family beat the storm in their trek to northern Michigan, and they plan to stay close to relatives' Northport home for the holiday.
"We are right where we want to be," said Brendel, who doesn't have to return to the Detroit area until next week.
Annie Murphy of Suttons Bay also plans to limit her travel on Christmas to a short cross-country ski jaunt through the woods to her sister's nearby house. But her children are headed home the day after Christmas, so she hopes the storm quickly moves through.
"My kids are coming home for the weekend, so it might affect them," Murphy said.
Grand Traverse Road Commission crews are prepared for an ice storm.
"We'll be ready for it if it comes," said road commission Manager Mary Gillis.
Today and Friday are holidays for road commission crews, but Gillis said emergency staff is available to scatter salt and sand on slick roads.
Icy road conditions across northwestern Michigan caused several accidents this month, including multiple crashes along a stretch of U.S. 31 South near Interlochen, said Grand Traverse County sheriff's Lt. Bryan Marrow.
Nancy Mueller and her father, Louis, died last week when a truck driven east on U.S. 31 South near Interlochen crossed the center line and struck their vehicle. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Debra Lynn Fiorini died this month along U.S. 31 South near Interlochen when a vehicle lost control and slammed into her. Fiorini was assisting victims of a separate two-car crash when she was hit.
U.S. 31 is a state trunkline that receives the road commission's highest priority, Gillis said.
Road commission crews inspected that stretch along U.S. 31 South after each accident, and found no physical defects in the road.
Gillis said slower speeds are necessary for safer winter driving.
"Whatever you're driving in winter, cut it in half," she said. "You can't assume the road conditions are going to be consistent. Ten minutes can make all the difference in the world."
About 20 planes will make their way through Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City on Christmas Day, said airport Director Stephen Cassens.
"Some of the airlines are accommodating changes to their schedule based on their anticipation that this freezing rain could complicate things at the hubs," he said.
Staff writer Bill O'Brien contributed to this report.
