Temperatures plunge across Michigan, some cities by 50+ degrees in just 24 hours
Tuesday's warm weather set records across Michigan, but a cold front that rolled through the state sent temperatures plunging by 50 degrees or more Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Throw in 40-mile-an-hour winds and it feels even colder than the 35-degree temperature on the thermometer at 11 a.m. Wednesday in Detroit, a number that was expected to drop to 25 degrees by the end of the day. All told, that's almost a 50-degree drop in 24 hours.
The cold weather in the Detroit area, however, won't stick around for long and temperatures should begin climbing back toward the 60s at the end of the week, said National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Kook in White Lake Township.
Temperatures should hit the upper 30s Thursday, rising to the 60s by Sunday and Monday.
Tuesday was a day for setting records: with a high of 73 in Detroit, and a high of 74 in both Flint and Saginaw. The previous highs for that day were 63 set in Detroit in 1976, and 59 for Flint and Saginaw, both set in 2018.
Tuesday was also the warmest day on record for all of February in parts of Michigan, according to the National Weather Service, with the previous highs of 70 in Detroit set in 2017, 68 in Flint set in 1999 and 67 in Saginaw, set in 1930.
In the Upper Peninsula, Tuesday's weather also broke records for the day and the month. It was 57 in Negaunee, near Marquette, and 66 in Stambaugh in Iron County near the Wisconsin border, breaking the previous high of 50 in Negaunee set in 2016 and the 58-degree record set on Feb. 27 in 1896 in Stambaugh.
"That's a really old record to be broken," said weather service meteorologist Greg Michels in Negaunee.
The warmest it's ever gotten in February in Stambaugh, topping the 64-degree record set in 1930. Iron Mountain got to 65 on Tuesday, which was also the highest temperature recorded there for the month.
"It's amazing how warm it got yesterday," Michels said. Tuesday's weather is more typical in April and May. High temperatures at the end of February are usually in the 30s, with lows around 10.
"Having that warmth that early is pretty unusual," Michels said.
So are the very big swings in temperature: from 65 in Iron Mountain on Tuesday afternoon to 8 degrees Wednesday morning, and from 57 to 5 above in Negaunee. Throw in the wind chill, and it's even colder in the Upper Peninsula: minus 11 at Sawyer Air Force Base and minus 8 in Iron Mountain on Wednesday.
Michels said the lack of snow cover contributed to the warm temperatures. Snow totals, he said, are below normal. As of Tuesday, the snow total was 83 inches, compared to a normal total of 147 inches, and 197 inches for the entire winter for Negaunee.
He said a strong El Nino weather pattern gets the credit for the warmth. The last time the western corner of the UP was this warm and had so little snow, was in 1878 − "the year without a winter" as it was called. Another strong El Nino also brought warm weather to the Upper Peninsula in 1998, Michels said.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan temperatures swing by 50+ degrees in just 24 hours
