Jan. 07--Record-shattering cold is gripping the Detroit area and other parts of Michigan this morning as a polar vortex, an air mass from arctic, continues to wreak havoc across much of the United States.
It's believed to be the coldest air to hit southeast Michigan in 20 years.
The weather has also contributed to at least six deaths.
Most schools in the Detroit area are closed and municipal services are again delayed in some areas, with Troy announcing that trash pickup for today is canceled. The Detroit People Mover is also closed.
A water main break was reported shortly before 9 a.m. in Livonia, closing one lane of eastbound Schoolcraft at Wayne Road and southbound Wayne at Schoolcraft.
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This morning's commute continues to be hampered by snow and ice, with numerous crashes reported. The State Emergency Operations Center remains partially activated to monitor conditions. The City of Auburn Hills, however, has lifted its snow emergency.
The main roads in Oakland County are in decent shape, according to Craig Bryson, spokesman for the Road Commission for Oakland County.
"Our big challenge right now is to try to get subdivisions done ... that's a monumental task," Bryson said, noting that the commission hired contractors Monday night to assist in clearing subdivisions but their pickups are unable to effectively clear so much snow -- 20 inches in some areas -- in such cold weather.
He said officials do not expect to finish clearing roads until Friday.
Motorists in Macomb County are to avoid a one-mile stretch of Metropolitan Parkway in Clinton Township, where snow is blowing across the travel lanes, causing an icy mess.
County road crew trucks loaded with liquid calcium chloride are going out to the area between Gratiot and Groesbeck to try to loosen the ice, said Bob Hoepfner, director of the Macomb County Department of Roads.
In these frigid temperatures, salt doesn't work.
That stretch of road became a problem about 1:30 a.m. It will reopen as soon as crews can clear it, Hoepfner said. He said the stretch of the heavily traveled, east-west thoroughfare in the county is two lanes in each direction.
Aside from the Metro Parkway spot, Hoepfner said overall road conditions are good but there can be slick spots. Crews today will be clearing road shoulders, approaches to major intersections, interstate entrance and exit ramps and possibly making their way into residential subdivisions, where contractors also have been working to clear roads.
While drivers can get around, Hoepfner encourages them to drive slowly, especially at intersections.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus remained in record-low territory at 9 a.m. at -11 degrees, a slight warm-up from the 14 below reported earlier. The previous record low for Jan. 7 was minus 5 at the airport in 1942 and minus 10 at Flint in 1986.
Around the area shortly before 9 a.m., it was -11 in Mt. Clemens, -12 in Pontiac, -13 in Ann Arbor, -10 in Howell, -9 in Monroe, -10 in Flint, 3 degrees in Grand Rapids and -10 degrees in Lansing.
The lowest temperature reported this morning in Michigan was 20 degrees below zero in the Upper Peninsula community of Ironwood.
Livingston, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Wayne counties remain under a wind chill warning until 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Wind chills are expected to remain between 15 and 25 degrees below 0 throughout today.
Today's high should top out at 0 degrees with a slight chance of snow showers. Wednesday should be warmer with a high near 15, but Saturday should feel practically balmy with a high near 39, according to the National Weather Service.
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