Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in Michigan
Every extreme cold/wind chill event the National Weather Service has filed in Michigan, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
The most significant on the map
The most significant extreme cold/wind chill episodes in Michigan.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 310
- Deaths
- 9
- Injuries
- 0
- Damage
- $475,000
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Extreme Cold in Michigan, December 3, 2002Temperatures across the state averaged well below normal the first week of December. Detroit tied a 131-year record low of 3 degrees Fahrenheit on the morning of the 3rd, while a temperature of -8 degrees Fahrenheit broke the record low in Flint.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Michigan, February 10 to 11, 2008The second big blast of snow, wind, and bitter cold in as many weeks. In fact, this storm was extremely similar to the January 29-30 event. Low pressure rapidly strengthened as it moved northeast away from Lake Superior.
- Extreme Cold in Michigan, January 23 to 24, 2026Temperatures bottoming out around zero during Friday morning, coupled with wind speeds in excess of 15 mph, produced wind chills of 15 to 25 below zero across most of southeast Michigan.
- Extreme Cold in Michigan, February 19 to 20, 2001A Moore Township man was driving about two miles from his home when his vehicle went off the road and into a ditch. The man attempted to walk home, but collapsed and died of hypothermia about a half mile from his truck. Temperatures were in the 20s.
- Extreme Cold in Michigan, March 3, 2002In Troy, an 84-year-old woman was found dead on the patio outside her retirement home. Hypothermia was the suspected cause of death.
- Extreme Cold in Michigan, January 27, 2003A 70-year old woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease wandered from her home and was found frozen to death behind her garage.
- Extreme Cold in Michigan, January 21, 2003A 50-year old homeless man died in a Detroit alley. Hypothermia was the suspected cause.
- Extreme Cold in Michigan, January 26, 2003A 51-year old homeless man was found dead in the city of Roseville. An autopsy revealed that exposure to cold was the cause of the mans death.
- Extreme Cold in Michigan, December 21 to 29, 2000Though the worst of the snow was over, the worst of the cold was just beginning. Temperatures never got out of single digits on the 22nd, with Detroit seeing a high of only 4 degrees, after a morning low of 3 below zero.
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in Michigan, January 21 to 24, 2026Anomalous 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 in Michigan, February 4 to 5, 2007Execeptionally cold air surged into Northern Michigan. High temperatures on the 4th (Super Bowl Sunday) were around zero, with low temperatures that night from five to ten below zero.
- Extreme Cold and Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, January 19 to 23, 2013An 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.
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in Michigan, February 13 to 15, 2015A clipper system passing just north and east of Michigan would bring a multitude of weather hazards. Widespread light snow occurred ahead of the system's cold front, but that snow was enhanced by Lake Michigan into northwest lower Michigan.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Michigan, January 29 to 30, 2026Antecedent 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.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Michigan, January 22 to 26, 2026An Arctic airmass entered the UP late on the 22nd, with very cold wind chills of -25F or lower persisting at times through the morning of the 26th.
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in Michigan, January 28, 2019Strengthening low pressure moved into the southern Great Lakes, crossing southern lower Michigan during the daylight hours of the 28th. This resulted in a significant winter storm for most of northern lower Michigan.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Michigan, January 18 to 23, 2025An arctic air mass enveloping the Upper Great Lakes impacted Upper Michigan with several days of bitter cold temperatures and wind chills along with prolonged moderate snow over the west to northwest wind snow belts.
- Extreme Cold and Winter Weather in Michigan, January 4 to 8, 2014A 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.
- Blizzard and Extreme Cold in Michigan, January 26 to 28, 2014A bitter cold Arctic air mass surging into Upper Michigan on the night of the 26th-27th dropped mean daily temperatures 20 to 25 degrees below the average on the 27th and 28th.
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in Michigan, January 18 to 21, 2026A clipper low moved through the region bringing widespread light snow to the U.P. Moderate to heavy lake effect snow developed over the northern and western U.P. as an arctic air mass moved into the Great Lakes, disrupting travel and resulting in school closures.
- Extreme Cold in Michigan, January 14 to 18, 2009An arctic airmass become firmly established over the Great Lakes region on January 14th and persisted through the 18th. Temperatures fell below zero all four days, with wind chill values in the 5 to 30 below range during the majority of the time.
- Extreme Cold in Michigan, February 14 to 15, 2015Arctic airmass ushered in by northwest winds produced Wind Chills around 30 below zero across most of Southeast Michigan the early morning of February 15th.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Michigan, February 7 to 8, 2026Antecedent arctic air mass, combined with some radiational cooling on the night of the 7th into the 8th, resulted in a very cold night.
- Extreme Cold in Michigan, January 6 to 7, 2014One of the most brutal cold air outbreaks in recent memory - the coldest since at least January 1994 - plunged into the Great Lakes region. Near- to below-zero temperatures were accompanied by blustery northwest winds.
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in Michigan, February 1 to 6, 2007Winds shifting northwest in the wake of a surface trough brought heavy lake effect snowfall downwind of Lake Superior from the 1st continuing into the 4th.
More
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill everywhereEvery kind of event in Michigan
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.