Michigan faces extreme cold with wind chills hitting 50 degrees below zero in the Upper Peninsula, prompting school closures and warnings.
Michigan: So, it’s freezing out there! The state is under a serious cold weather warning. An arctic blast is hitting the Midwest and East Coast, and it’s no joke. In the Upper Peninsula, wind chills are dipping to a staggering 50 degrees below zero. Can you believe that?
Steve Freitag, a meteorologist, summed it up perfectly: “It’s cold.” He mentioned that there’s a cold weather advisory in effect until noon Wednesday. Today’s high is just 8 degrees, and tonight? A chilling minus 5. Brr!
There’s even a chance of some snow, mainly in the northern suburbs. Because of this brutal weather, many schools and universities in Metro Detroit have canceled classes and activities for Tuesday and likely Wednesday too. Smart move!
Looking ahead, Wednesday’s forecast shows a high of 16 and a low of 12. Not exactly beach weather, right? This arctic chill settled in over the weekend, causing some wild scenes. The L.A. Rams and Philadelphia Eagles had to play in heavy snow on Sunday, and the presidential inauguration celebrations in D.C. got moved indoors. Talk about a weather shake-up!
Freitag warned folks to stay indoors if possible. If you have to go out, bundle up! At these temperatures, exposed skin can get frostbite in just minutes. Yikes!
Up north, it’s even worse. Early Tuesday, the Upper Peninsula saw lows of at least 10 degrees below zero. In Ironwood, it was a bone-chilling 26 below zero, and with the wind chill, it felt like 50 below. That’s just insane!
Because of these extreme conditions, the weather service issued an extreme cold warning, which is a big deal for Michigan. Meteorologists clarified that while cold weather warnings are common, they’ve updated their alerts to make them clearer. An extreme cold warning kicks in when wind chills hit 30 below zero.
Don Rolfson, another meteorologist, said this morning was likely the coldest it’ll get for a while. The U.P. is used to cold, but he admitted, “This is pretty cold. It’s the coldest since 2021.”
Interestingly, the cold is keeping the snowflakes small, so not much accumulation is happening. But don’t let that fool you; it’s still frigid!
And while Michigan is feeling the chill, it’s not as bad as Minnesota, where some areas are nearly 30 below zero. Plus, Florida is experiencing a rare snowstorm, with the governor declaring a state of emergency. They’re expecting 2-4 inches of snow in the northern part of the state. Can you imagine?
Parts of Texas and Louisiana are under blizzard warnings too. It’s been decades since they’ve seen winter weather like this. Houston could get 4-6 inches of snow, which is pretty much unheard of down there!
Freitag pointed out that if you think Michigan’s weather is rough, just remember: “It’s snowing in New Orleans.” That’s a big deal for them since they don’t even have snowplows. They’re bracing for 3 to 6 inches on Bourbon Street. Wow!
Stay warm out there, everyone!
