By Charles E. Ramirez, cramirez@detroitnews.com
Temperatures across Michigan on Friday were already cold and expected to drop to some of the lowest in years, according to the National Weather Service.
Blame the so-called polar vortex, the phenomenon of swirling, cold air from the Arctic Circle that pushes south into the U.S.
One of the most recent polar vortices to vex Michigan chilled the state to the bone in 2019. During that cold snap, more than a foot of snow fell across parts of Lower Michigan, and wind chills ranged between minus-20 and minus-40, according to NWS data.
On Friday, temperatures in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula ranged from minus-11 degrees in Baraga to minus-8 in Marquette by 1 p.m., according to the agency’s office in Marquette.
Across the Lower Peninsula’s northern tip, temperatures ranged from 1 in Alpena to minus-2 in Gaylord, NWS reported.
On the state’s western half, readings ranged from minus-2 in Ludington to 1 in Holland and 0 in Grand Rapids, the weather service said.
In southeast Michigan, temperatures ranged from 3 in Saginaw to 2 in the Thumb region and 1 in Detroit, according to the NWS’s office in White Lake Township.
But things are looking up, sort of.
The NWS forecast for Baraga and Marquette called for high temperatures to rise to 4 and 8 on Saturday. The low in Baraga was to plunge to minus-12, while it will fall in Marquette to minus-8.
High temperatures in Alpena and Gaylord were predicted to rise to 11 and 7 on Saturday, the agency said. Alpena’s low could fall to minus-1 at night, and Gaylord was threatening to drop to minus-6.
Ludington could expect a high of 10 on Saturday, while Holland is looking at 9, and Grand Rapids should have reach 7. Ludington’s low Saturday night was expected to plummet to 4, while Holland faced a low of 3, and Grand Rapids was to slide to 2.
Closer to Detroit, temperatures were also expected to be warmer on Saturday. Saginaw was to be at 8. Bad Axe in the Thumb and the city of Detroit were expected to follow suit. Overnight, Saginaw and Bad Axe both weere to drop to a low of 0. Detroit was set to drop to a low of 3.
Detroit’s coldest January on record was set in 1977 with a high temperature of 12.8. The same year, Flint also had its coldest January with a high of 10.9. Saginaw has them both beat: its coldest January was in 1912 at 9.4.
