Most areas will be dry much of Wednesday before a few showers turn to snow showers Wednesday evening. Cooler air will move in late Wednesday and Thursday. Temperatures will start in the mid-40s (it is 46 at 7 am in Otsego) and fall into the 30s as the day progresses.
Weather History for SW Michigan
January 1
1876: The year begins during a three-day spell of record warmth. Lansing hits 65 degrees, after setting a record of 70 degrees the day before.
1964: Arctic air sets record lows across Lower Michigan on this New Year’s Day. The temperature falls to 15 below zero at Grand Rapids and Muskegon hits 9 below.
1985: A severe ice storm struck southern Lower Michigan as a layer of ice up to one-inch thick downed tree limbs and power lines. There were three deaths and eight injuries directly related to the ice storm. Over 430,000 electrical customers were without power, some for as long as 10 days. Total damage was estimated at nearly $50 million.
January 2
1876: Record highs are set for the third day in a row at Lansing and Detroit as the temperature reaches 62 degrees at both locations.
1999: A powerful winter storm gets underway with heavy snow and high winds shutting down travel for the next several days.
January 3
1897: Warm and wet weather prevails as a cold front approaches. High temperatures in the 50s are followed by heavy rain. This is the wettest January day on record at Muskegon, with nearly 5 inches of rain.
1918: The temperature falls to a record low of 16 below zero at Muskegon during one of the coldest months on record in Lower Michigan.
January 4
1981: Arctic air is firmly entrenched across Lower Michigan with extremely cold temperatures prevailing for the first half of the month. Eight of the first twelve days of the month fall below zero at Lansing. This is the coldest morning with a low of 29 below zero. This is the all-time low for the month of January at Lansing and the coldest temperature of the 20th century there. The temperature falls to 20 below zero at Grand Rapids and 15 below at Mount Pleasant.
1999: West Michigan is digging out from 1 to 2 feet of snow, with drifts of several feet as the Blizzard of 1999 slowly winds down. Lake effect snow will continue for the next several days, however.
January 5
1912: Arctic air dominates Lower Michigan during the coldest January on record. Muskegon plunges to 12 below zero for a record low for the date.
1998: Moist southerly flow brings warm and wet weather to Lower Michigan. Highs in the 50s follow morning lows in the 40s as several days of thawing weather are observed during the first week of January.
1946: Record highs are set for a second day in a row across Lower Michigan as temperatures reach the mid and upper 50s.
January 6
1999: Heavy snow piles up on top of the snow dropped during the blizzard a few days earlier. Another 9 inches of snow at Muskegon brings the snow total on the ground to 30 inches, with snow drifts several feet high. This will be the snowiest January on record at Grand Rapids with 46.8 inches of snow and Lansing with 34.6 inches.
2014: A three-day siege of heavy snow and extreme cold begins. Frequent whiteout conditions and temperatures hovering near zero make travel hazardous and at times almost impossible. The phrase ‘polar vortex’ enters the weather lexicon during this time.
January 7
1942: Record cold high temperatures occur as arctic high pressure prevails. The high temperature is only 4 degrees at Grand Rapids and 6 at Muskegon. At Lansing, the thermometer struggles to reach the zero mark during the day, with a frigid northwest wind making it feel even colder
1988: An arctic blast brings several days of sub-zero cold to Lower Michigan, including record lows this morning of 15 below zero at Grand Rapids and 11 below at Muskegon.
Weather History for SE Michigan
January 1
On January 1, 1876, the new year was a nice welcome for Detroit when it came in with a record-high temperature of 65 degrees.
Also on January 1, 2008, a snowy start to the new year when a compact, but potent winter storm hit southeast Michigan. Detroit received 4 inches of snow, and Saginaw only had 2 to 3 inches, but in between a heavy band of snow left 8 to 16 inches. Storm totals included 8.6 in Flint, 10.5 in Ann Arbor, 12 in Brighton, 13.2 in White Lake, and 16 inches in Clarkston, Lake Orion, Dryden, and Capac!
January 2
On January 2, 1999, a blizzard hit southeast Michigan and continued into the early morning hours of the 3rd. Detroit Metro Airport received 11.3 inches, Flint had 8.5 inches and Tri-Cities Airport in Freeland received 13.2 inches. Between 10 and 15 inches of snow fell over many areas south of M-59, and between 5 to 13 inches across the Saginaw Valley and Thumb regions.
January 3
On January 3, 1879, the second day in a row of record lows were reported at Detroit. Today the temperature was a cold 15 degrees below zero.
January 4
On January 4, 2016, lake effect snow developed along the shoreline of Lake Huron. While most locations did not measure snow, the eastern shoreline of the Thumb received 6 to 10 inches. A second snow band developed over Saginaw Bay and dumped 9 inches in the Saginaw Area. However, the snow band was so narrow that MBS airport recorded only a trace.
Also, on January 4, 1997, the temperature rose to 61 degrees in Flint and in Detroit. The normal high temperature for January 4 is only 30 degrees!
January 5
On January 5, 2014, a strengthening low-pressure system passed just southeast of the area and dropped significant snowfall across all of Southeast Michigan. The heaviest snow fell along the I-69 corridor where 14-18 inches was reported, including 17.1 at Flint – their 3rd largest snowstorm on record! Detroit measured 10.6 inches, good for its 24th largest snowfall on record, while Saginaw reported 8.8 inches. In addition, the National Weather Service office in White Lake measured 14.6 inches, the largest snowfall in its abbreviated climate record which began in 1995.
Also, on January 5, 2005, the city of Saline in Washtenaw County was hit with a snowstorm and received a total of 8.5 inches of snow. This snowstorm lasted through the 6th.
January 6
On January 6, 1912, the temperature in Detroit did not get above 5 degrees. The same was true on the previous day (January 5th).
January 7
On January 7, 2014, Southeast Michigan was amidst a 3-day period of record to near-record cold temperatures. Record lows were recorded at Detroit, Flint, and Saginaw. Detroit and Flint each fell to -14 degrees while Saginaw fell to -11 degrees. The coldest spot in Southeast Michigan was the city of Saline in Washtenaw County which fell to -23 degrees! The high temperature in Detroit on this day reached only -1 making it one of the coldest days on record for the city. Widespread wind chills in the -30s and -40s were recorded.
Also on January 7, 2008, record highs were set across Southeast Michigan. Detroit reached 64, Flint 61, and Saginaw 59. These temperatures were only 3 to 4 degrees off of the all-time January high temperatures. Later in the evening, thunderstorms moved across the region. Some of these storms were severe in Midland, Washtenaw, and Monroe Counties! Since 1986 only two other Januarys have had severe weather, 1990 and 1996.
Grand Rapids Forecast
7-Day Forecast 42.99°N 85.67°W 1 4 grrKalamazoo Forecast
7-Day Forecast 42.31°N 85.67°W 1 4 kzoLansing Forecast
7-Day Forecast 42.73°N 84.51°W 1 4 lanForecast Discussion
- Areas of fog this morning - Areas of fog will continue to develop early this morning as a result of ample lingering low level moisture. Some localized dense fog is expected but at this time sfc obs do not indicate dense fog in our area or any indication that widespread dense fog will develop. This is likely the result of sufficient enough boundary layer mixing to inhibit denser fog from forming. Nevertheless some locally dense fog is possible going forward through mid morning as boundary layer mixing weakens. Fog will gradually dissipate during the late morning hours as some drier air finally begins to advect into the lower levels of the atmosphere as winds veer to the wsw. - Light snow tonight and Thursday - Light pcpn will linger tonight and Thursday as the upper low over Iowa drifts slowly eastward. Light rain showers will transition to light snow showers tonight as thermal profiles cool a bit. A consensus blend of latest shorter range guidance continues to suggest that any snow accumulations would be quite light at under an inch. Minimal impacts to travel are expected given the light nature of pcpn and sfc temps in the lower to middle 30s. - Tranquil wx this weekend into early next week - Ridging will build in at the sfc and aloft this weekend and result in fair wx with partly cloudy skies and seasonably mild temps. Fair and seasonably mild wx will continue early next week with the sfc ridge remaining in control of our wx pattern.
Just 2 years ago Grand Rapids only had 7.4” of total snow by this date in the winter of 2020-2021. Goes to show just how snowy we really have been this year when compared to that
GR has been hammered with snow so far with tons more on the horizon!
Nice seeing the sun peeking out today! And boy, with the rain and lightning the yard sure has greened up. What’s next, getting the mower out in January?!
Love when the CPC forecast just keeps getting redder and redder for our region everyday!
A cool statistic so far this season will be the amount of snowfall versus the number of days with snow cover. Each of the 3 events we had this season offered huge snow amounts but melted quickly.
25 out of 31 days last year in March saw low temps of 33 degrees or lower! This year it will be even colder, so get ready for a long drawn out winter and a slow switch over to Spring! Incredible!
LOL Nice try with the low temps. The average temp in March is well above 32 degrees which implies most of the time snow does not stick around long (if we get any) in March. That’s why it is included in meteorological spring.
Pathetic!
I’m loving this long warm stretch in the heart of winter!
March last year was pretty typical and only saw a handful of days below 32 degrees. Mainly 40’s and 50’s. If most of January is going to be mild, that doesn’t leave a lot of winter left.
Breaking news>>>>GGR did not see any severe thunderstorms yesterday!
Really odd watching thunderstorms roll through last night. Instead of all the “special weather statements” they kept issuing, why not a thunderstorm watch? We get an inch or 2 of snow and they’re quick to post snow advisory’s or warnings, but just special statements for lightning, wind, and hail?
Who wouldn’t want Snow in MI this time of year?
Rain in January = horrible!
Snow in January = Heaven on Earth! Bring on a snowstorm! Probably the 3rd/4th week of Jan.
50 here when I woke this morning but 39 in Ionia, so it will be short-lived. Bill has some good links this morning:
https://www.woodtv.com/weather/no-sign-of-arctic-air/
While it could change at this time there is NO cold nor much in the way of snow fall for most if not all of the month of January. We are off to a very warm start to 2023. One thing to watch is if we have a so called book end winter where it was snowy in November and December and may be again in February and March. We shall see.
Slim
Good morning! This warm and rather wet start to January continues. The official H/L for Grand Rapids yesterday was 40/36 there was 0.33” of rain fall, there was no snow and no sunshine. There is no snow on the ground. Overnight the temperatures held steady with the low being just 39 and the official current reading being 40. For today the average H/L is 32/20 the record high of 60 was in 1997 and the record low of -20 was set in 1981 the record snow fall amount of 6.3” was set in 1941. At this time it still looks… Read more »