Blowing snow hinders drivers

As winds howl and the snow blows, it is making travel treacherous for area drivers on Saturday. Police are reporting near whiteout conditions throughout the county.

At approximately 2:45 p.m. police reported several vehicles stuck in the roadway on Deerfield Road near Palmyra Road. It was unclear if they were struck in the snow as the road was down to one lane in that area or if they weren’t moving due to the extremely low visibility. Tow trucks were also having a hard time getting down the road.

The Lenawee County Sheriff and the Ridgeway Township Fire Department have M50 east of the village of Britton shutdown as several vehicles have slid off the road in that area. A separate minor personal injury crash occurred at Downing and M50 as well possibly due to the near whiteout conditions. Another minor injury crash was reported about 3:35 p.m. at Ridge Highway and M50.

The village of Dundee reported online that 15 cars were involved in a crash in front of the Walgreens Pharmacy on M50 sometime before 2:30 p.m..

The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill warning in effect until 12 p.m. Sunday. The wind chill Saturday afternoon is hovering around -12 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind is blowing out of the northwest at approximately 17 mph according to the NWS. Wind gusts up to 38 mph are expected this evening and a wind chill near -24.