Ice Storm in Wayne, Michigan

A major winter storm impacted Southeast Michigan during the daytime and evening hours of February 22, 2023. Warm/moist air originating in the Gulf of Mexico surged north toward a surface warm front, increasing coverage and intensity of precipitation over lower Michigan by mid-morning. This warmer air aloft interacted with a resident cold airmass near the surface, creating conditions favorable for snow to the north and a wintry mix for much of the metro Detroit region. The higher snow accumulations occurred across areas well north of I-69, with Midland, Bay, Tuscola, and Huron counties reporting 5 to 9 inches. Communities along and south of I-69 saw a wintry mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain which resulted in widespread ice accumulations of a quarter to half inch. Parts of Washtenaw even exceeded half an inch of ice accumulation. The impacts from icing were widespread, with DTE reporting nearly 3,000 downed wires and over 500,000 customers without power. Similarly, numerous reports of downed tree limbs were reported making some roads impassable. For many metro Detroit communities, an ice storm with this widespread of a footprint had not been observed since April 2003.