Cold in Michigan, January 4 to 5, 1999

Arctic air invaded Michigan behind the massive snowstorm. As usual, the Great Lakes offered some protection, as air was warmed as it crossed the lakes. But far southeast Michigan did not receive the benefits of the lakes, as arctic air coming from the northwest curled around the southern tip of Lake Michigan and turned northeast into the southeast corner of the state.After a high of around 10 degrees on the 4th, temperatures nose-dived that night. The mercury plunged to -10 at Detroit Metro Airport, Adrian, and Ypsilanti, and -13 at Ann Arbor and Tecumseh. It was not until late afternoon on the 5th before temperatures rose to above zero. By midnight, the temperature at Detroit Metro Airport had risen all the way to 6 degrees.The cold caused three deaths in Oakland County, all on the 4th. In Pontiac, a man froze to death while walking home early in the morning. An elderly woman somehow walked out of a nursing home in Troy early in the morning; she was found dead in the driveway later in the morning. In West Bloomfield, a young adult male was found frozen to death; the exact circumstances of his death were unknown.The bitter cold caused numerous cases of frostbite. Injuries were reported near Pontiac and in Shelby Township on the 4th. On the 5th, a single hospital in Westland reported that "dozens suffered from exposure and frostbite." The number of injuries listed above is undoubtedly a gross underestimation.