Cold/Wind Chill, Midland
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Midland forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.647, -84.388 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold in Michigan, January 17 to 19, 1997
The coldest weather of the winter occurred from the 17th through the 19th. During that period, lows reached as low as -6 at Detroit's metro airport, and -9 at Flint's Bishop airport and the National Weather Service forecast office at White Lake.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 17 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 17
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS DTX wrote it up.
The coldest weather of the winter occurred from the 17th through the 19th. During that period, lows reached as low as -6 at Detroit's metro airport, and -9 at Flint's Bishop airport and the National Weather Service forecast office at White Lake. One man died of hypothermia in Bay City. A few days earlier, on the 12th, another man died of hypothermia in Warren, when the temperature at metro airport fell to 2 above zero. Several other less severe cases of hypothermia were reported through mid-January.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
17 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Cold/Wind Chill, Bay
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Bay forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 43.721, -83.942 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Huron
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Huron forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.910, -82.855 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Saginaw
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Saginaw forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.335, -84.053 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Tuscola
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Tuscola forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.491, -83.440 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Sanilac
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Sanilac forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.443, -82.646 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Shiawassee
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Shiawassee forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.954, -84.147 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Genesee
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Genesee forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.022, -83.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Lapeer
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Lapeer forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.090, -83.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, St. Clair
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- St. Clair forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.931, -82.664 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Livingston
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Livingston forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.603, -83.911 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Oakland
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Oakland forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.660, -83.386 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Macomb
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Macomb forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 42.673, -82.910 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Washtenaw
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Washtenaw forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.253, -83.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Wayne
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Wayne forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.285, -83.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Lenawee
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Lenawee forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.895, -84.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Monroe
- When
- January 17, 12:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Monroe forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.921, -83.494 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold/Wind Chill, Bay | 1997-01-17 | 33 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Cold/Wind Chill, Macomb | 1997-01-12 | 41 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
What these are
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Pennsylvania, January 17 to 20, 1997
- Cold in Wisconsin, January 17, 1997
- Ice Storm in Oregon, January 17 to 19, 1997
- Cold in Iowa, January 17 to 19, 1997
- Cold in New Jersey, January 17 to 20, 1997
- Cold in New York, January 17 to 18, 1997
- Cold in Illinois, January 17 to 19, 1997
- Cold in Vermont, January 17, 1997
- Cold in New York, January 17, 1997
- Cold in Pennsylvania, January 17 to 18, 1997
- High Wind in Wyoming, January 17 to 18, 1997
- Cold in Maryland, January 17 to 20, 1997
More
Every storm in Michigan in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, January 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5586450, 5586451, 5586452, 5586453, 5586454, 5586455, 5586456, 5586457, 5586458, 5586459, 5586460, 5586461, 5586462, 5586463, 5586464, 5586465, 5586466.