MSP: Nearly 150 Metro Detroit crashes after post-Thanksgiving snow

Marnie Muñoz, The Detroit News on Nov 30, 2024

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DETROIT — Metro Detroit had about 150 preventable vehicle crashes within the past 24 hours as post-Thanksgiving snow fell over the area, Michigan State Police announced early Saturday.

Four MSP patrol cars were struck while investigating the crashes, the MSP Second District Post wrote on X. No one was hurt.

Officials asked in a separate post that drivers move at least 10 miles per hour below posted speed limits while snowy road conditions continue. Drivers should also keep an emergency kit in the car, MSP wrote in an earlier X post.

"We are getting just enough snow to highlight those drivers with the risky driving behaviors," the Friday morning X post read. "Hopefully, we can act like we have been there before."

Weather conditions and crashes forced road closures across the state on Friday evening.

Lanes reopened on southbound M-39 at Interstate 96 as of 1:08 a.m. Saturday, the Michigan Department of Transportation announced. The lanes had been closed on Friday evening following a crash.

All but one lane of I-96 in the area of I-94 was closed as of 9:35 p.m. Friday, the state transportation department posted on X.

The freeway ramp from I-275 to westbound M-14 was closed just before 8:30 p.m. after a crash there, and another crash closed all I-94 lanes near Oakwood Boulevard in Dearborn between 8:42 and 9:40 p.m.

Two eastbound lanes on I-94 near Gratiot in Detroit also temporarily closed following a crash, MDOT posted on X at 7:35 p.m. The road reopened by 8:15 p.m.

Additional details regarding the crashes weren't immediately available.

On Saturday morning, lake effect snow showers have intensified in Genesee and Lapeer counties, dropping visibility down to one mile at times with a new half inch of snowfall, the National Weather Service in Detroit announced on X.

Roads may be slick with temperatures in the mid-20s, according to the weather service.

The snow showers further north will track east at 25 miles per hour, staying mainly along the I-69 corridor, the weather service wrote on X. The Metro Detroit area is still less severely impacted by the snow showers, forecasts show.

The colder weather is here to stay for the weekend, as temperatures range from just below 20 to just above 30 degrees, according to the weather service. Wednesday may also bring more snow, according to a Friday NWS Detroit forecast.

Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula were still hardest hit by the lake effect snow as of Friday evening. Some areas were receiving snow reportedly as deep as a foot and a half, according to the NWS Marquette post.