Howdy! I am planning to move to the southeast part of Michigan around this new years. I am excited to get out of my state and see what other parts of the USA have to offer. But one thing that really worries me, and that I wanted to reach out about, is the winters in the north.
I’m moving from Texas, so for the most part, snow or ice is rare, and it usually meant the whole city shut down for a few days if it happened that year. And now I need to coordinate a moving truck up to Michigan, which from what I know, snow is to be expected? Do y’all have any tips for dealing with this?
I’ll also be moving into a suburb area, is there anything I need to know about that? I’ve heard shoveling snow is kinda important, is that true? How often do you need to shovel snow?
Thanks y’all
SE Michigan isn’t nearly as bad as Northern Michigan as far as snow goes. A few inches usually doesn’t need shoveling, but a lot of people will do it to keep their driveways clear. Tire-tracks in snow will freeze into ice, making it harder to shovel later.
Growing up, we would almost never get snow-days off from school, even during a deep freeze + blizzard. Don’t expect things to shut down, and your boss will probably expect you to show up for work. Roads will get plowed and salted, but the first heavy snow causes driving problems until they clear it up. The last few years weren’t very bad for SE Michigan. Last winter, there were probably only a couple of mornings where I avoided the highway due to weather and the traffic problems it caused.
Is it common for roads to close or get backed up randomly during the winter? Like should I be planning additional time to get anywhere, on top of what google maps says?
Randomly? Nah. If there happens to be a real good snowfall and the plows don’t get out before you do I’d then expect a nice 10mph or so drive. Once they’re out they’re clear out the roads on priority on how busy they are. So in town your side streets might be neglected, bit the main roads should get cleared pretty quickly.
It’s not a random thing, if there’s more than an inch of snow overnight, expect a morning commute to take longer. If snow is coming in the middle of the day, expect a commute home to take longer. Especially the first couple snows, it can easily double or triple the time.
There are also seasonal roads, but that’s mostly ones that are on large hills that make stopping impossible in icy conditions, them closing isn’t random.