Weather extremes may stress Thursday afternoon commute, plumbers – The Oakland Press

Wednesday afternoon’s high temperatures and Thursday night’s predicted 8-degree low, with the rain-to-snow transition in between, means more people are likely to have flooding and other seasonal plumbing issues at home and work. Thursday’s afternoon commute won’t be pretty, either.

Because the ground is frozen, the rain won’t be absorbed and will slide into any nearby ditch, creek, stream or river, or simply create ponds on any low-lying area. It might also backup into basements.

Megan Varcie, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s White Lake office, said rain and snowfall models for Thursday indicate up to a half-inch of rain will fall before falling temperatures turn the rain into a wintery mix, and then snow that could dump 4 to 8 inches on SE Michigan.

Varcie said anyone with plans Thursday afternoon or evening would be wise to move the events to earlier in the day or another day altogether, because, she said, the afternoon commute “will be a mess.”

Potential flooding is greatest Thursday morning, but could return over the weekend when temperatures head back toward the 40s.

Plumber Nick Nazak is a service manager for the Livonia-based Guardian Plumbing. His company works on commercial buildings, such as apartments and businesses, and he was prepared to be on call Wednesday night. He left work early Wednesday to get his and his parents’ homes prepped to avoid plumbing problems during the freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw cycle this week, which he said can wreak havoc.

Even drains and sewer pipes that aren’t clogged with ice may have some ice inside, preventing the free flow of water away from home and into sewers and retention ponds.

That could mean drains and sewers get backed up and overflow, into yards, basements, or anywhere else water can gain access. He able advised-bodied homeowners to take a quick look around their property to make sure downspouts and ditches are clear of debris. It’s too late to clean gutters that weren’t cleared last fall, though, he said.

Nazak said he’s not the only plumber on call at Guardian, which employs about 60 people, including office workers.

“We anticipate a few more calls, not a tremendous amount, about broken lines and backed-up storm drains for rainwater,” he said.

He also expects calls from clients whose pipes were almost or completely frozen and said homeowners can be in for a surprise when cracked pipes become apparent, “especially in older homes that are not well-insulated.”

“Plumbing has a life cycle, just like the infrastructure. If there’s a crack on the top of the pipe, you might not notice it until there’s a back-up or high demand like with this rain,” he said. “That’s when a system shows leaks.”

Despite an increase in the number of significant rainstorms in recent years, he said people are still surprised when a basement floods during this week’s weather rollercoaster.

“Commercial or residential, the physics are the same,” he said. “Every year, people are surprised by leaks and stuff like that, but you only get so much life out of plumbing. If you’re not taking care of it, it’s not going to take care of you.”

Homeowners who do find new or recurrent flooding are encouraged to document the damage with photos, not just for insurance purposes, but to look at what changes are needed to prevent future flood incidents.