Detroit ? With strong wind and four to seven inches of snow forecast, snow-removal crews girded for a winter storm as thousands of fans headed downtown on Super Bowl eve.

About 250 state and local plows will be on the roads in Detroit and throughout Wayne and Oakland counties.

There also are hundreds of city workers and volunteers ready to work through the night to clear sidewalks so fans can get to today’s title game at Ford Field, which has a steel roof.

City officials, the Super Bowl host committee and the NFL have been talking about snow removal for about a year.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Detroit through noon today, predicting five to eight inches of snow before the storm passes.

The heaviest amounts were to fall Saturday night, with gusts up to 40 mph.

“I would definitely say that road conditions are going to deteriorate quickly,” said Karen Kahl, a meteorologist with the weather service office in suburban Oakland County.

The snow comes after the third-warmest January on record in Detroit, with high temperatures in the 40s most of the month

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