Michigan, 2026

Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Michigan, January 18 to 19, 2026

January 18 to 19, 2026 · NWS IWX · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

System snow overspread southern Lower Michigan during the evening hours of January 18th which was followed by periods of lake effect snow on January 19th behind an arctic front. Storm total snowfall accumulations ranged from 2 to 6 inches across southwest Lower Michigan with the greatest amounts reported closer to Lake Michigan.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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 IWX wrote it up.

System snow overspread southern Lower Michigan during the evening hours of January 18th which was followed by periods of lake effect snow on January 19th behind an arctic front. Storm total snowfall accumulations ranged from 2 to 6 inches across southwest Lower Michigan with the greatest amounts reported closer to Lake Michigan. Strong winds coupled with the snow and blowing snow produced significant visibility reductions at times and hazardous travel conditions.

What forecasters said that day

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 Northern Indiana wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 18, 3:58 PM EST, 1 hour 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 18, 3:58 PM EST, 1 hour 2 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 18, 4:12 PM EST, 48 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 winter storm, 2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Northern Berrien County

When
January 18, 5:00 PM EST to January 19, 10:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Berrien County forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
41.919, -86.428 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Light system snow during the late afternoon and evening of January 18th was followed by bands of lake effect snow. The combination of west wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph and the snowfall resulted in significant visibility reductions of less than one quarter of a mile at times due to snow and blowing snow. Storm total snow accumulations were in the 2 to 6 inch range. A report of 5.2 inches of snow was received 2.8 miles south southeast of St. Joseph, MI. Numerous slide-offs and accidents were reported across the region. In addition, wind chills dropped to as cold as 15 below during the early morning hours of January 19th extending into early afternoon.

Winter Storm, Southern Berrien County

When
January 18, 5:00 PM EST to January 19, 10:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Berrien County forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
41.919, -86.428 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Light system snow during the late afternoon and evening of January 18th was followed by bands of lake effect snow. The combination of west wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph and the snowfall resulted in significant visibility reductions of less than one quarter of a mile at times due to snow and blowing snow. Storm total snow accumulations were in the 2 to 5 inch range. A report of 3.4 inches of snow was received 2.8 miles southeast of Shoreham, MI. Numerous slide-offs and accidents were reported across the region. In addition, wind chills dropped to as cold as 15 below during the early morning hours of January 19th extending into early afternoon.

Winter Storm, Cass

When
January 18, 5:30 PM EST to January 19, 10:00 PM EST
Where
Cass forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
41.915, -85.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Light system snow during the late afternoon and evening of January 18th was followed by bands of lake effect snow. The combination of west wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph and the snowfall resulted in significant visibility reductions of less than one quarter of a mile at times due to snow and blowing snow. Storm total snow accumulations were in the 2 to 5 inch range. A report of 3.4 inches of snow was received 2.8 miles north northwest of Edwardsburg, MI. Numerous slide-offs and accidents were reported across the region. In addition, wind chills dropped to as cold as 15 below during the early morning hours of January 19th extending into early afternoon.

Winter Weather, St. Joseph

When
January 18, 6:00 PM EST to January 19, 10:00 PM EST
Where
St. Joseph forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
41.914, -85.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Light system snow during the late afternoon and evening of January 18th was followed by bands of lake effect snow. The combination of west wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph and the snowfall resulted in significant visibility reductions at times due to snow and blowing snow. While storm total snow accumulations were only reported in the 1 to 3 inch range, the combination of snow and blowing snow produced hazardous travel conditions. The heaviest snowfall rates of the event occurred during the early morning of January 19th as a dominant band of snow tracked across the county. Numerous slide-offs and accidents were reported across the region. In addition, wind chills dropped to as cold as 15 below during the early morning hours of January 19th extending into early afternoon.

Winter Weather, Branch

When
January 18, 6:00 PM EST to January 19, 10:00 PM EST
Where
Branch forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
41.916, -85.059 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Light system snow during the late afternoon and evening of January 18th was followed by bands of lake effect snow. The combination of west wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph and the snowfall resulted in significant visibility reductions at times due to snow and blowing snow. While storm total snow accumulations were only reported in the 1 to 2 inch range, the combination of snow and blowing snow produced hazardous travel conditions. The heaviest snowfall rates of the event occurred during the early morning of January 19th as a dominant band of snow tracked across the county. Numerous slide-offs and accidents were reported across the region. In addition, wind chills dropped to as cold as 15 below during the early morning hours of January 19th extending into early afternoon.

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Michigan in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, January 2026

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1306254, 1306255, 1306256, 1306257, 1306259.