—TRAVERSE CITY — Mother Nature enforced her control over the area this week with heavy snowfall causing cancellations, road closures, and flight delays.
On Wednesday, an Alberta Clipper swept over the area, dumping around seven inches of snow. The region has seen higher than normal snowfall already this season.
Traverse City has had almost 30 inches of snow, as of 7 a.m. Thursday, and during a normal winter the city would have only seen about nine inches by this time.
Even with the heavier snowfall, the city is well below Gaylord’s 56 inches of snow and Sault Ste. Marie’s 50 inches. Those cities are also well above a typical season which would usually have around 24 and 21 inches of snow respectively.
The airport is ready for the season, according to Dan Sal, chief operating officer. He said his team works throughout the season to ensure they are always prepared for snow vehicles are checked, brushes are purchased, sand bags are filled, and non-corrosive, FAA-approved de-icers are at the ready.
Sal said the airport has been clearing the runways “24-hours a day and for the last eight straight days for sure. Some of our guys are on 10 to 12 straight days I believe.”
Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean travel isn’t impacted by the weather. Air travelers have experienced delays and closures over the past week.
“I think we’ve only had to close a couple times for an hour here, hour there,” Sal said. “Everything’s been going good for us. We’ve had some mechanical issues with some of our trucks here and there, but that’s every winter.”
The Cherry Capital Airport reminded flyers in a social media post to check their local airline for delays on Wednesday.
On the same day, an American Airlines Flight 5924, operated by Piedmont Airline, landed at the Cherry Capital Airport shortly after 8 p.m. and ended up in the snow, a Facebook post from the airport said. After landing, the Embraer 145 aircraft taxied to the ramp and, upon turning onto the taxiway, the plane “left the pavement” and ended up in the snow, according to the post.
The airport said the 44 passengers and three crew members were not injured and passengers were shuttled to the terminal.
The cause of the incident and other details were not released and Airport Director Kevin Klein was not available for questions.
Those passengers aren’t the only travelers to have their commute disrupted. Grand Traverse County 911 reported several instances on social media this week of roads being closed because of drivers having trouble getting up some of the steeper hills in the county.
The Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office said they received 73 traffic calls between Tuesday at midnight and Thursday at 2 p.m. No fatalities or life-threatening injuries were reported, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Plans were changed or altered due to the driving conditions. Most schools across the region had snow days on Thursday, the third this week for many districts, and meetings and gatherings were canceled or rescheduled, including the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority’s Ad Hoc meeting, Traverse City Area Public School’s Board of Education Finance and Operations Committee meeting, the joint Northwestern Michigan College and NMC Foundation Executive Committee meeting, and more.
But some events, like Traverse City’s Ladies Night event, continued as planned. With expected temperatures reaching down into the upper teens and wind gusts around 30 miles per hour, women bundled up and headed downtown to shop special deals, eat, drink and enjoy the festive atmosphere from 5-9 p.m.
Downtown Traverse City released a statement early Thursday after they said they received many inquiries into whether or not the event would go on.
“Because this is a shopping event, merchants will individually decide to have their doors open,” the statement said. “Each merchant will decide their hours, so we encourage you to call ahead if you have a favorite spot in mind.”
The weather could be slightly more pleasant for next week’s Mens Night. Forecasts show warming temperatures through the weekend and into early next week. Temperatures could reach 46 degrees in Traverse City on Monday before dropping to the low 30s by midweek.