Old Man Winter has been fairly tame this season. But it wouldn’t be Michigan if he didn’t deliver at least one or two big snow storms as spring draws near.
Heavy, wet snow began burying Oxford on the morning of Feb. 24 and didn’t stop until the following morning.
The National Weather Service (NWS) website reported 10 inches was measured in Oxford, but it seems like the total was actually closer to 12 inches.
According to the NWS, a strong low pressure system containing an abundant amount of moisture moved in a northeasterly direction from the Southern Plains to Lake Erie.
Temperatures were cold enough to produce snow in the north and west, but to the south and east, much of the precipitation fell as either rain or a wintry mix, which drastically lowered the snowfall in those areas, according to the NWS.
Northern Oakland County was slammed pretty hard based on the totals.
Lake Orion reported 12.4 inches, while Clarkston received 11 inches. Two miles south of Lakeville, 11.5 inches was reported, while 10.6 inches was measured 2 miles south of Ortonville.
The heavy snowfall led the Oxford school district to cancel classes on Thursday and Friday. The Oxford Township office was also closed on Thursday.
Don Brantley, superintendent of the Oxford Village Department of Public Works (DPW), said his workers were out plowing and salting the streets and parking lots from 7 a.m. to about 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 24 and again from 2 a.m. until 3 p.m. the next day.
‘It was a 24-hour snow event,? he said.
The DPW was able to handle the storm with no problems.
‘We did just fine,? Brantley said.
Budget-wise, the relatively mild winter has been good news for the DPW.
‘It hasn’t affected our overtime budget or our salt budget,? Brantley said. ‘We’re still in really good shape.?
Across the county, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office responded to 326 calls for service related to the storm.
Of those, 12 calls were in Oxford Township and nine were in Addison Township. They included six property damage accidents, five calls to assist motorists, six instances of vehicles that had run off the road and four road hazards.
Temperatures warmed up over the weekend and a majority of the snow melted almost as quickly as it came.
But Old Man Winter is not done yet as a storm warning was issued Tuesday and the area braced itself for what was forecasted to be another significant dump of the dreaded white stuff. Oxford Schools cancelled classes Tuesday due to the impending storm.