COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – All schools across Branch County and throughout much of southern Lower Michigan are closed today as the state has been slammed with a winter wallop that has dumped nearly a foot of heavy wet slushy snow with another inch or two accumulation possible before the storm system exits the region tonight.
Primary highways and roads continue to be plowed and salted and for the most part are in decent driving shape with slower speeds and caution still required but secondary roads and streets remain snow covered, slippery and hazardous for motorists.
The snowfall started Wednesday morning and was mixed at times with sleet and freezing rain before the heavy amounts of the white stuff began to pile up in the afternoon. Sustained northeast winds of 15-20 mph with gusts of 30 mph blew the snow across roadways and created drifts that clogged some roads and filled up driveways and sidewalks that had been cleared earlier in the day. Several dozen slide-off and fender bender accidents have happened in Branch County along with a couple of jackknifed semis since the storm arrived but no serious injury crashes have been reported by local law enforcement agencies.
Unofficial snowfall totals in the Coldwater area range between 7 and 10 inches.
