ST. IGNACE, Mich. (AP) - Winter’s icy grip continued throttling Michigan on Friday as bitterly cold temperatures and wind-whipped snow kept many schools closed, stopped travel on an Upper Peninsula highway and shut down the Mackinac Bridge for hours.
“It’s just a mess. It’s terrible,” Mackinac County Sheriff Scott Strait said of the foul weather that led to a 20-vehicle pileup on U.S. 2 near St. Ignace. “It was a chain-reaction accident from white-out conditions. … You can’t see.”
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning through Saturday morning for western and southwestern Michigan and parts of the Upper Peninsula, including the St. Ignace area where snowfall was expected to range from 3 to 6 inches.
Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Ludington and Muskegon also were included under the winter storm warnings.
Similar conditions were forecast in northern Michigan, with gale force winds Friday on northern Lake Michigan.
Part of U.S. 2 in Mackinac County was closed due to poor conditions. Traffic also was stopped just before noon Friday on the Mackinac Bridge connecting Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas after six vehicles were involved in a slow-speed crash, according to bridge chief Bob Sweeney.
The bridge reopened by evening, although certain vehicles were required to have an escort.
“Our office overlooks the bridge, and you can’t even see the bridge,” said Sgt. Michael Powell, of the state police St. Ignace post.
Many school districts statewide canceled classes Friday because of extreme cold. Hope College in Holland closed at noon.
Muskegon County Undersheriff Daniel Stout warned people to avoid rural roads that don’t get much traffic this weekend.
“If you slide off the road in the country and no one finds you, it could very well be fatal,” he said. “You may not have enough gas to keep the car warm.”
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