Cold Snap Forecast for Michigan: The Next Arctic Blast
In Detroit the coldest week is usually Jan 22 to 28, with a normal low of 18°F, and the coldest night of the last 10 winters was −14°F on Jan 31, 2019.
Reading the National Weather Service forecast for Detroit.
The week with the lowest normal low at each reference station, from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, beside the coldest night of the last 10 winters, the median first freeze and the record low.
The coldest week and the coldest nights at Michigan reference stations
Station
Coldest week
Normal low
Coldest night, last 10 winters
First freeze
Record low
DetroitDetroit Metro Airport, USW00094847
Jan 22 to 28
18°F
−14°FJan 31, 2019
Nov 4
−21°FJan 21, 1984records since 1959
Grand RapidsGrand Rapids, USW00094860
Jan 25 to 31
17°F
−19°FJan 24, 2026
Oct 24
−22°FJan 19, 1994records since 1963
LansingLansing Capital City Airport, USW00014836
Jan 24 to 30
16°F
−16°FJan 24, 2026
Oct 25
−29°FJan 4, 1981records since 1948
MarquetteMarquette, USW00014838
Jan 29 to Feb 4
11°F
−14°FJan 31, 2019
Oct 29
−33°FFeb 8, 1861records since 1860
Sault Ste. MarieSault Ste. Marie Sanderson Field, USW00014847
Jan 24 to 30
7°F
−24°FJan 28, 2019
Oct 17
−37°FFeb 8, 1934records since 1931
Normals from NOAA NCEI; nightly lows from GHCN-Daily, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026.
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Detroit against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 5 Michigan reference stations.
At Detroit it is usually Jan 22 to 28, with a normal low of 18°F. At the other reference stations: Grand Rapids Jan 25 to 31 (17°F), Lansing Jan 24 to 30 (16°F), Marquette Jan 29 to Feb 4 (11°F) and Sault Ste. Marie Jan 24 to 30 (7°F). These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily normals.
The normal low at Detroit reaches 32°F around Nov 22 and 20°F around Jan 9. The first actual freeze came around Nov 4 in the median of the last 10 winters, weeks ahead of the normal, because one clear calm night can run far below the average.
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Detroit was −14°F on Jan 31, 2019, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was −4°F. Elsewhere: Grand Rapids −19°F on Jan 24, 2026, Lansing −16°F on Jan 24, 2026 and Marquette −14°F on Jan 31, 2019. The record at the Detroit station is −21°F, on Jan 21, 1984, in daily records since 1959.
At Detroit a typical recent winter brings 119 nights at 32°F or colder, 39 at 20°F or colder and 2 at zero or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Detroit Metro Airport (USW00094847), Grand Rapids (USW00094860), Lansing Capital City Airport (USW00014836), Marquette (USW00014838) and Sault Ste. Marie Sanderson Field (USW00014847). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
