Snowfall tapering off, lower temperatures incoming

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Old man winter made his debut a little early this year with a continuous snowfall on Monday. Next up? Lower temperatures. 

With many southeast Michigan communities picking up between 4 and 7 inches, the snow is finally tapering off Monday evening. The accumulating snow was down across southern Illinois, parts of Indiana, across Ontario and into New York state -- and Michigan was part of that bullseye. 

While there is still some heavy snow over Indiana and northwest Ohio, for Michigan it's a decreasing trend with the radar returns. As of about 5:30 p.m., there's still some snow along I-75 from Flint to Pontiac to Detroit, but the back edge of the snow is closer to Lansing, approaching Jackson from the west. So over the next few hours, the snow will continue to diminish.

The cold is what kicks in over the next few days. The numbers are in the mid to upper 20s from with coming out of the north, adding a chill. Wind chills are in the middle teens in some areas. However, things should dry out -- snow isn't expected for the rest of the week.

As of 6 p.m. Monday, Auburn Hills, Ferndale, Southgate, St. Clair and Woodhaven are under snow emergencies.

Some quick links to help you out:

• FOX 2 Weather app to track the snow (free in the App Store and Google Play)
• Live traffic updates
• Schools canceling PM activities for snowfall Nov. 11, 2019
• An updating list of school closures

The snow made it a slow go on the roads. The intersection of Inkster and Annapolis closed in Westland because of a three-car accident. 

Leo Ciavatta with Macomb County Department of Roads said they ensure they have enough trucks to be on the road around the clock. He said the wet, slushie snow is easier to get off the road and stay off the road. He's been with the department for 30 years.

"I remember a lot of big storms that we've had but never out of the gate like this. Usually you kind of ease into winter, plus it's November 11 today -- sometimes you get it a little later in November," he said. "It's going to be a long winter when you get this amount of snow this early."

"It's winter -- the way I look at it. In Michigan, you can expect it to come anytime," said Mildred Moore.

Snow makes a lot of people cranky but for some people, it brings immense joy. We met 70-year-old Mildred while she was out shoveling.

"I just couldn't wait to get out here," she said.

The snow will stick around on the ground for a while. Windy, cold conditions move in on Tuesday with highs only in the 20s. Stay tuned to FOX 2 and fox2detroit.com for your weather updates.