A snowy view of West Washington Street in the city of Marquette is seen Friday. (Journal photo by Alexandria Bournonville)

MARQUETTE — Many Marquette County area schools experienced closures on Friday after the snowstorm that came during the middle of the night on Friday.

A winter storm watch was in place, but as of Friday morning has been replaced by a winter weather advisory. Over the night, only two inches of snow had accumulated, but winds have reached a high of 25 miles per hour causing immense snow drifting that lowers visibility dramatically.

School districts with closures include Gwinn, Baraga, Ishpeming, L’Anse, Marquette, Munising, Negaunee and Republic-Michigamme.

People should expect around six to eight inches of snowfall through tonight. Temperatures are slowly falling and should be expected to reach the low teens to single digits.

Minor accidents in the city of Marquette have been reported. Some vehicles were sliding into ditches. No major accidents or injuries have been called in as of Friday morning.

“People need to slow down, take some extra time if they do need to get out and travel. Obviously, it’s not the worst storm we’ve had, but any time we get that ice and rain like we had that’s underneath it, stuff is going to stay pretty icy and slippery for awhile,” said Capt. James Finkbeiner of the Marquette Police Department.

“Take some extra care…remember it’s still here, winter hasn’t given up its grip and…if you don’t need to go out, stay home for another day and things will clear up in time here,” Finkbeiner advised.

Alexandria Bournonville can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206. Her email address is abournonville@miningjournal.net.