A brutally cold air mass dominated Upper Michigan from the 5th through the 9th dropping temperatures well below normal through the period. Average temperatures were up to 25 degrees below normal when the core of the Arctic cold moved overhead on the 6th and 7th.
Every event with a place to put it; 19 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS MQT wrote it up.
A brutally cold air mass dominated Upper Michigan from the 5th through the 9th dropping temperatures well below normal through the period. Average temperatures were up to 25 degrees below normal when the core of the Arctic cold moved overhead on the 6th and 7th. During this cold wave prolonged moderate lake effect snow showers fell over the northwest wind snowbelts of Upper Michigan totaling more than a foot of snow at several locations over a five-day period.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Marquette, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 4, 5:11 AM EST, 1 hour 49 minutes earlier.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html><!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html><!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
15 extreme cold/wind chill, 4 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Total snowfall accumulation over a four-day period included 19.0 inches at Atlantic Mine, 18.7 inches at Painesdale and 13.0 inches at the Houghton County Airport.
The observer at Grand Marais measured 13.5 inches of total lake effect snowfall accumulation over a four-day period.
Several observers measured between 8 to 12 inches of total lake effect snowfall over a four-day period.
Several observers measured between 6 to 10 inches of total lake effect snowfall over a four-day period.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 30 and 50 below zero through the period with a low reading of 54 below at Ironwood on the morning of the 6th. The high temperature at Ironwood on the 6th was 15 below zero. Schools were closed throughout the county from the 6th through the 8th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 30 and 40 below zero through the period over the interior portion of Ontonagon County as high temperatures remained in the double digits below zero on the 6th. Schools were closed throughout the county from the 6th through the 8th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 30 and 45 below zero through the period as high temperatures on the 6th were in the double digits below zero. Schools were closed throughout the county on the 6th and 7th and were on a 2-hour delay on the 8th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 25 and 40 below zero through the period as high temperatures on the 6th were in the double digits below zero. Schools were closed throughout the county from the 6th through the 8th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 25 and 35 below zero through the period as high temperatures on the 6th were below zero. Schools were closed throughout the county on the 6th and 7th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 25 and 35 below zero through the period as high temperatures on the 6th were around zero. Schools were closed throughout the county on the 6th and 7th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 25 and 40 below zero through the period as high temperatures on the 6th were in the double digits below zero. Schools were closed throughout the county from the 6th through the 8th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 30 and 45 below zero through the period as high temperatures on the 6th and 7th were below zero. Schools were closed throughout the county from the 6th through the 8th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 30 and 45 below zero through the period as high temperatures on the 6th were below zero. Schools were closed throughout the county on the 6th and 7th and were on a 2-hour delay on the 8th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 30 and 40 below zero through the period as high temperatures on the 6th and 7th were at or below zero. Schools were closed throughout the county from the 6th through the 8th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 30 and 40 below zero through the period as high temperatures on the 6th and 7th were at or below zero. Schools were closed throughout the county on the 6th and 7th and Mid Peninsula Schools closed on the 8th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 25 and 40 below zero through the period. Schools were closed throughout the county from the 6th through the 8th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 25 and 40 below zero through the period. Schools were closed throughout the county from the 6th through the 8th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 30 and 45 below zero through the period. Schools were closed throughout the county on the 6th and 7th due to the extreme cold.
Dangerously cold wind chill readings were consistently between 25 and 40 below zero through the period. Schools were closed throughout the county on the 6th and 7th due to the extreme cold.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, January 2014
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 494345, 494346, 494347, 494348, 494260, 494285, 494297, 494303, 494322, 494323, 494324, 494325, 494326, 494327, 494329, 494337, 494338, 494339, 494340.