Icy weather shuts schools in Michigan, causes power outages

DETROIT (AP) — Hundreds of schools are closed in Michigan as freezing rain leaves roads slippery and cuts power to thousands of homes and businesses, while flooding caused by an ice jam prompted an evacuation.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for a large swath of the Midwest, spanning from Nebraska through Michigan. The warnings come in the wake of the snow, ice and shivering cold hitting normally mild cities in the West.

School districts including Detroit’s were closed Wednesday, as was Wayne State University. In mid-Michigan, flooding caused by an ice jam along the Grand River in Portland prompted officials to evacuate about 50 people from homes near the river.

Major utilities reported more than 50,000 customers were without power early Wednesday, mostly in western Michigan, after freezing rain brought down trees and power lines.