I measured 11 inches of snow in Corktown from the storm of 2-3 Jan 99...
My wife and I were at a suburban restaurant when the storm began. The streets were bare in late afternoon. By around 8pm we were barely able to get up the Howard St exit on the Lodge Freeway downtown. We struggled to get down Bagley to where we lived taking turns getting out to push the car while one of us steered.
Out of nowhere a good samaritan with a shovel appeared like an apparition in the blowing snow. He helped me to shovel out a curbside revetment to park my car in. I offered him $20. for his labor. When he refused, I insisted that he take at least $10. He politely took the money, and I'm sorry to say, I never saw him again.
I also remember Detroit's second worse snowfall of 30 Nov-1 Dec 74, something like 19 inches. I was going to Wayne State and my '64 Chevy Impala's snow tires got me through the blizzard, barely.