Close, but no blizzard.
At least one weather expert is saying a record warm November may have spared the area a big snowstorm.
‘Had the temperature dipped another 5 degrees all that precipitation which started with rain Monday evening and eventually turned to snow on Wednesday morning would have been all white stuff,? said Rich Pollman, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake Township. ‘It was just too warm. That would have been a significant snow.?
The first snowfall for the Ortonville/Goodrich area ranged from three inches in Goodrich to four inches in Clarkston, made driving hazardous and prompted county road crews into action.
‘This will be the fifth warmest November in history,? said Pullman. ‘December should be average temperatures with about 12 inches of snow’pretty normal. But look out for the later months in the winter. Late January and February could be colder and snowy.?
While the rain-snow mix was not enough to close Brandon and Goodrich schools it was enough to down a few power lines locally.
Alejandro Bodipo-Memba, spokesperson for Detroit Edison, electric utility serving 2.1 million customers in Southeastern Michigan, said Tuesday’s storm interrupted power to about 35,000 customers.
‘Our crews were out all day Tuesday and were working into Wednesday to restore power,? he said. ‘As of Wednesday afternoon an estimated 40 customers in Groveland Township and 240 customers in Brandon Township were still without power. It’s expected that by midnight Wednesday all should be back up.?
Bodipo-Memba said that crews continually work to cut branches over and around power lines.
Consumers Energy reported about 1,600 without power in Genesee County.