Cold/Wind Chill in Michigan

Events

608

Deaths

21

Injuries

200

Damage

$4.4 million

• Cold in Michigan, February 3 to 6, 20071 death · 170 injured · $425,000 · 17 eventsA bitter cold airmass blasted into the region on Saturday, February the 3rd and persisted through Tuesday, February the 6th. Temperatures through this period were 20 to 25 degrees below normal.
• Cold in Michigan, January 4 to 5, 19993 deaths · 29 injured · 7 eventsArctic air invaded Michigan behind the massive snowstorm. As usual, the Great Lakes offered some protection, as air was warmed as it crossed the lakes.
• Cold in Michigan, January 1 to 7, 20184 deaths · 14 eventsA prolonged cold spell gripped southeast Michigan January 1st to January 7th leading to the deaths of at least 4 people in the Detroit Metro Area.
• Winter Storm and Cold in Michigan, January 24 to 26, 20192 deaths · 2 injured · $10,000 · 15 eventsA deep upper low pressure system from Hudson Bay into the Great Lakes brought a surge of Arctic air across the Upper Great Lakes which generated moderate to heavy lake effect snow and bitter cold temperatures across much of Upper Michigan from the 24th into 26th.
• Cold in Michigan, January 17 to 19, 19972 deaths · 17 eventsThe 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.
• Cold in Michigan, January 29 to 31, 20192 deaths · 17 eventsAn arctic air outbreak into the Midwest at the end of January 2019 brought extreme low temperatures and dangerous wind chills for several days. Numerous low temperature records were set across the area.
• Cold in Michigan, February 1 to 6, 19961 death · 17 eventsThe coldest weather of the winter season occurred across southeast Michigan during the first week of February. At Flint, the low temperature was zero or lower every day from January 31st through February 6th, reaching a low of -11 on the 3rd.
• Cold in Michigan, February 8 to 11, 20111 death · 2 eventsArctic air spreading over the region resulted in either bitter cold minimum temperatures or periods of wind chill readings to near 25 below zero over the far western interior of Upper Michigan from the 8th through the 11th.
• Cold in Michigan, March 9, 19981 death · 1 eventA Kawkawlin man passed out while walking home from a local tavern. A steady, cold rain was falling, and the man died from hypothermia. Alcohol was likely a contributing factor.
• Cold in Michigan, November 2, 19991 death · 1 eventThe body of a newborn baby - with the umbilical cord still attached - was found abandoned just outside of a church in Warren. The discovery was made at around 11 am. An autopsy showed that the baby was killed by exposure to cold.
• Cold in Michigan, March 3, 20031 death · 1 eventAn 86-year old woman died from Hypothermia after wandering away from a nursing home in Livonia.
• Cold in Michigan, March 9, 20031 death · 1 eventA 74-year old man wandered out of a retirement home in Westland and died of Hypothermia.
• Cold in Michigan, January 16, 20051 death · 1 eventA man in his 50s was found frozen to death in a grassy area near a sidewalk in Redford Township at about 130 AM. Investigators said he was probably homeless. Detroit Metro reported a temperature of 16 degrees F.
• Cold in Michigan, January 15 to 16, 20191 death · 1 eventA 75-year old man was found dead in an alleyway in Iron River on the morning of the 16th. Police said that health and weather were contributing factors in the man's death.
• Cold in Michigan, March 16 to 18, 20201 death · 1 eventLate afternoon on the 16th, the Escanaba Public Safety received a report of a 36 year-old male from Wisconsin who went missing. His body was found in the woods along the northern fence line of the Delta County Airport early evening of the 18th.
• Cold in Michigan, May 16, 1997$2.0 million · 1 eventRecord-cold temperatures in the upper 20s across the southwest quarter of Lower Michigan on May 16, 1997, caused financial losses for many West Michigan farmers.
• Cold in Michigan, January 11, 1999$1.3 million · 4 eventsTemperatures plunged below zero in far southeast Michigan during the early morning hours of the 11th. At Detroit Metro Airport, the morning low was -4 degrees. The cold resulted in over 120 water main breaks in the city of Detroit.
• Blizzard and Winter Storm in Michigan, January 26 to 31, 20193 injured · $80,000 · 22 eventsArctic air pouring across the Upper Great Lakes produced bitter cold temperatures and wind chills from the 26th into the 31st.
• Cold in Michigan, December 30, 1998$500,000 · 1 eventHigh temperatures in the teens and lows in single digits were too much for some pipes to handle. A pipe (part of a fire suppression sprinkler system) froze and burst in Brown Hall at Saginaw Valley State University.
• Cold in Michigan, February 1 to 5, 1996$150,000 · 1 eventA cold wave limited daytime temperatures to the single digits on 2/2 and 2/3 followed by overnight lows in the range of -15 to -30 on 2/3 and 2/4. The extreme cold shattered rubberized roof membranes on several school buildings.
• Cold in Michigan, April 27 to 28, 1998$100,000 · 1 eventLocal newspapers reported fruit bud damage occurred the mornings of April 27th and 28th as temperatures both mornings fell into the mid 20s.
• Blizzard and Winter Storm in Michigan, February 16 to 18, 200630 eventsLow pressure originating over the southern Plains deepened rapidly as it moved into the Great Lakes region on the afternoon and evening of the 16th.
• Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in Michigan, January 21 to 24, 202630 eventsAnomalous cold air settled into the eastern US for late January, with the coldest period for the Upper Great Lakes from the night of Jan 22nd through the morning of the 24th.
• Extreme Cold and Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, January 19 to 23, 201325 eventsAn Alberta clipper system ushered bitter cold Arctic air across the Upper Great Lakes during the period. The bitter cold air mass also helped sustain periods of moderate to heavy lake effect snow over several days.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in Michigan, January 29 to 30, 202622 eventsAntecedent arctic air mass on the 29th, combined with radiational cooling and a light wind going into the morning of the 30th, led another chilly night, with some sites dropping into the -20 to -30F range for apparent temperatures.

Cold/Wind Chill everywhereEvery kind of event in Michigan

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.