• Photo by Kayleigh Garrison

UPDATE: MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Meridian Township is just the latest organization to announce they will be closed on Wednesday, January 30th due to weather conditions. State Offices, Ingham County Offices, United States Postal Office, Granger and the Capital Area District Libraries are among those to suspend operations tomorrow.

ORIGINAL STORY: MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - If you thought it was cold outside, bundle up because it’s only going to get worse.

With a projected high of -2 degrees on Wednesday and a wind chill as low as -33 degrees according to the National Weather Service, local schools have canceled class, including Michigan State University.

This is only the seventh time in history that Michigan State University has canceled classes; the most recent time was in 2014 due to blizzard-like conditions. While classes are canceled, the university will remain open so faculty and staff are required to work tomorrow.

Due to frigid temperatures and projected snowfall, visibility on the roads could be reduced until roads are plowed. Yesterday, Police Chief Ken Plaga announced that Meridian Township is under a snow emergency. With efforts underway to clear the roads, residents are required to keep their vehicles off the roads. Violating this rule will result in vehicle removal within six hours if parked on highways and primary streets. Vehicles will be removed within 24 hours if they're parked on local streets. It is unclear when this ordinance will be lifted.

Michigan hasn’t experienced severe weather conditions like this in a while. It’s important that residents are aware of signs of hypothermia and frostbite, including confusion, shivering, difficulty speaking, drowsiness, joint and muscle stiffness, numbness, odd-colored skin, hard or waxy-looking skin and blistering. To avoid hypothermia and frostbite, the National Weather Service advises people to wear three layers of insulated clothing, two layers of pants, a hat, a face mask, gloves, water proof boots and a heavy coat to block the wind.

Meridian Township has an ordinance that requires residents to shovel their sidewalks within 24 hours of a snowfall. However, this ordinance has been lifted until Friday due to the temperature. Residents have until 12 p.m. on Saturday to clear the snow from their sidewalks.

If you were expecting Granger to pick up your trash tomorrow, you’re going to have to wait until Thursday. Trash and recycling services have been suspended tomorrow due to the weather; this includes the landfill and recycling center. Granger’s main office is open during normal business hours today and trash and recycling services will resume tomorrow with extended routes on Saturday to make up for delays.

A snow emergency is in effect throughout Meridian Township until further notice.

While there’s a chance of more freezing temperatures and snowfall towards the end of the week, the chance of hypothermia and frostbite will decrease with a high of 42 degrees expected on Sunday.