Jerry Quigley shovels a mix of snow and ice from the sidewalk in front of his apartment on Greene Street in Ann Arbor Monday morning. Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
- Related story: Icy conditions prompt school closings across Washtenaw County
- Related story: Power outage reported for 1,500 DTE customers in Ann Arbor area
Last updated at 8:44 a.m.:
Several crashes were reported on icy Ann Arbor-area roadways during the Monday morning commute.
At of 7:30 a.m., Washtenaw County dispatch was reporting at least five different accidents: westbound M-14 at Curtis Road, eastbound Interstate 94 at Baker Road, westbound M-14 at Barton Drive, eastbound I-94 at Rawsonville Road, southbound U.S. 23 at Geddes Road and eastbound M-14 near North Maple Road.
As of 8 a.m., Joyce Williams with Huron Valley Ambulance said no one had been taken to the hospital from any of the Monday morning accidents.
Sunday night, however, a 60-year-old Ann Arbor man was transported to the University of Michigan Hospital in critical condition after a one-car accident on Dexter-Ann Arbor Road near Pratt Road in Scio Township, Williams said. Police say the vehicle hit a utility police.
Deputies from the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to the area from the accident around 8:15 p.m. The driver was listed in stable condition Monday morning, police said.
Jim Harmon, director of operations for the Washtenaw County Road Commission, said crews were called in at 4:30 p.m. Sunday and had worked throughout the night to battle the sleet and icy roads.
“We’re continuing to recover,” he said. “Our major roadways are in pretty fair shape.”
Harmon said trucks continue to remove slush from intersections and highways' on and off ramps. He warned motorists to take caution when driving through those problem areas.
As the weather warms later in the morning, the trucks will transition from freeways and surface roads into subdivisions, Harmon said.
Many schools across Washtenaw County were closed Monday morning due to the icy conditions, which were expected to subside as temperatures will rise to a high of 48. The weather at 7:30 was foggy and hovering around freezing at 32 degrees.
A wild roller coaster ride of weather was expected for the rest of the week. The forecast for Tuesday calls for a high of 61 and a chance of thunderstorms before temperatures begin falling again.
Tom Kines, a meteorologist with AccuWeather, said warm air pushing up from the Gulf of Mexico is what's causing temperatures to rise to 20 degrees above normal for this time of year -- but just for Tuesday.
Highs Wednesday morning were expected to remain in the 40s or low 50s, but then plummet throughout the day to single digits that night, Kines said. Thursday's high is 25.
View Ice Storm in a larger map
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.