Storm could bring a foot of snow to area

Snow emergency declared in Mt. Pleasant

Mt. Pleasant city officials have declared a snow emergency as forecasters are warning that a strong winter storm could bring as much as a foot of snow Friday and Saturday to parts of mid Michigan.

City Spokeswoman Darcy Orlik said all vehicles must be removed from Mt. Pleasant streets by 5 p.m.

Friday so crews can clear roadways.

Failure to remove vehicles from the streets will result in tickets being issued, and towing could be used if citations prove to be ineffective or the vehicles in the streets cause a delay in snow removal, Orlik said.

As Mt. Pleasant officials prepared for the storm, meteorologists at the National Weather Service

in Grand Rapids, which forecasts weather for mid Michigan, issued an alert Thursday afternoon that a storm watch remains in effect for a large swath of counties including Isabella, Gratiot, Clare, Mecosta and Montcalm counties.

Heavy snow exceeding eight inches is possible with wind gusts up to 45 miles per hour from Friday morning until Saturday afternoon for portions of central, south central, southwest and western central Michigan.

Travel could be “very difficult to impossible,” according to the NWS, with widespread blowing snow.

Travel could be “very difficult to impossible,” according to the NWS, with widespread blowing snow likely to significantly reduce visibility.

Hazardous conditions could impact travel Friday, and gusty winds could bring down tree branches and cause power outages, according to the NWS.

Meteorologists also are predicting bitter cold Arctic air and heavy lake effect snow to follow the system, with hazardous winter weather likely to continue into early next week.