Icy conditions sent cars spinning and colliding this morning on freeways across metro Detroit.
One person was killed after slamming into the back of a semi-tractor trailer on I-75 early this morning in Detroit. The 5:30 a.m. accident closed northbound I-75 at Mack Avenue for hours.
It was among dozens of crashes that spanned hours after freezing rain created slick spots across the region, closing schools and forcing spot closures on I-94, I-75, the Southfield Freeway and other roadways.
"Horrible," Michigan State Police Trooper Mike Zarate said, estimating about 50 accidents reported to the Detroit Post by 6:30 a.m. today. "There’s closures all over the place; I couldn’t begin to tell you all of them."
On east I-94, two semis apparently collided on the icy roadway just east of 26 Mile Road near the Macomb County border. Police and firefighters were on the scene as of 8:45 a.m. Elsewhere along the roadway, school busses and semi trucks were pulled off of on the shoulder --and numerous vehicles were off the road and in ditches.
Zarate's advice: Stay off the roads if you can.
"Let the road crews do their work," he said. "If you don't have to go out, don't. Wait until the sun comes up and melts off the ice."
The freezing rain began at about 5 a.m. and is expected to last through 10 a.m. today, National Weather Service Meteorologist Dave Kook said.
A Winter Weather Advisory issued this morning by the National Weather Service warns that the freezing rain and hazardous travel conditions could last through noon south of I-69 and through 4 p.m. north of I-69, Kook said.
But at 8:30 a.m., the temperature hit 32 degrees at Metro Airport, starting the thawing process.
"It’ll lag behind by an hour or so," he said.
The temperature is expected to climb today to 42 degrees by 4 p.m.
Rain is expected to continue overnight, then change to snow when a cold front moves through the area Saturday afternoon, Kook said. Up to a half-inch of snow is expected by Sunday morning. Saturday’s high will be in the low 40s before the cold front passes; Sunday's high will be about 33 degrees.
Provided By: Detroit Free Press
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