Dangerously low temperatures expected to last through the week

The cold front that has pushed temperatures dangerously low in metro Detroit appears to be here to stay for the rest of the week, prompting wind chill advisories, school closures and pleas to bring animals indoors to avoid frostbite.

"There's an Arctic air mass that's currently bringing these cold temperatures down," said Brian Cromwell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service forecast office in White Lake Township. "It should be letting up, just not necessarily in the very near future. The start of next week is when we can expect things to potentially go back to more quote, unquote, normal temperatures for this time of year."

Cromwell said that high temperatures are expected to barely creep out of the single digits on Tuesday and they could climb into the low teens by Wednesday. Some light snow is expected, but nothing like the weekend storm that hit metro Detroit and the rest of Michigan.

"The cold is definitely going to be the biggest weather hazard over the next few days," Cromwell said. "So, yeah, if we're gonna go outside, especially in this wind chill, is going to be pretty dangerous."

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By Monday afternoon, several school districts, including Detroit Public Schools Community District, Hazel Park and Harper Woods had already announced that they were canceling classes for Tuesday.

Detroit schools said in a notice on its website the closures were "due to dangerously low temperatures that are forecasted to drop significantly below zero with the wind chill. This is especially concerning knowing that the majority of our students walk to/from school or rely on bus transportation to travel to/from school."

The notice said school officials would wait until later to make a decision on Wednesday classes.

The cold temperatures pose a risk to animals, said Marie Skladd, president of the Michigan Animal Care Network, a nonprofit that provides food, shelter and other pet care essentials to low-income pet owners in Pontiac.

"We are recommending that all animals remain indoors except to relieve themselves for a few moments and come right back in," Skladd said. "Even the breeds that can handle the extreme temps like huskies, you must have proper shelter for them. The doghouse has to be loaded with straw. You have to maintain water source, which, obviously, is not easy with the current temperatures. You would need a heated water bowl."

Skladd said volunteers with her group are already fielding reports of animals frozen to death in the cold. She said a doghouse that's in use in these temperatures should be elevated on a pallet so the animal isn't lying on the cold ground. Chains also are a danger to animals because they can freeze to the animal's neck.

"You have to have a proper collar," she said.

Animals, especially cats, will seek warmth wherever they can find it, Skladd said, including in the engine compartments of vehicles parked outside. She advises people who park outside to bang on the hood of their car before they get in, to roust any animals that may have sought warmth from the engine block.

She also urged people to look out for animals they see outdoors. If a neighbor's pet is left outside for long periods in the cold, Skladd said people should call their local police or animal control to report it.

"Frostbite sets in quickly, especially with those that have do not have a thick undercoat," she said. "They need the water to maintain the body heat and you know water is freezing immediately. So unless you have a heated water bowl and you've made provisions for this animal, chances are they may not make it through the next few days."

The dangers of the cold aren't limited to pets.

Jessica Golich lives at the Griswold Capitol Park apartments in downtown Detroit and said the building has been without heat since Saturday night.

She said the heat initially went out Saturday morning and was fixed, but the fix didn't last.

"At 8:30 p.m. on the 13th, it went out again and we're still out with no timeline, no idea as to when it's coming back," she said.

Golich said she has had to vacate her apartment and stay with family as she waits to learn when the heat will return. She visited Monday afternoon and saw neighbors carrying in electric space heaters to try to keep the temperatures up.

"They've attempted to accommodate us with radiators and stuff but it doesn't work and one single radiator isn't going to fill up an 850-square-foot apartment," she said.

The Free Press left voicemail and email messages with building management seeking comment.

Arthur Rushin, Chief Enforcement Officer for the Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department, said in a statement that the city was aware of the issue.

"We've spoken with the regional manager and been informed that two of the heat pump units had coils freeze," Rushin said. "Coils were thawed out, however. Heat is about the mid-60s and they have provided space heaters to every tenant that requested one.

City inspectors plan to conduct heat checks Tuesday, Rushin said.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cold temperatures expected to last through the week for metro Detroit