If you've been jarred by winter weather lately, you're not alone. The winter of 2023-2024 was the warmest recorded in the continental U.S. (records span the past 130 years), with average temperatures 5.4 degrees higher than normal.
At the same time, severe cold snaps are also getting more intense. In January 2025, freezing temperatures stretched down the usually balmy Gulf Coast and brought unprecedented snowfall to Southern states like Louisiana and Florida.
While record-high temperatures and heavy snow might seem contradictory, they're actually symptoms of the same climate phenomenon. In the Arctic, the polar jet stream—which usually creates a boundary between the frigid northern air and the more temperate remainder of the globe—has weakened as a result of greenhouse gas emissions. This has allowed the jet stream to dip further than ever before, leading to cold snaps across the Southern U.S. Those same greenhouse gas emissions are also partly responsible for the warmer winters we've been seeing. So, as counterintuitive as it may seem, warmer winters and extreme cold events go hand-in-hand.
Though typically areas in the Northern U.S. tend to be much colder than their Southern counterparts, even within the same state, temperatures can vary greatly. To determine where temperatures drop the lowest in the winter, Stacker compiled a list of the counties with the coldest winters in Michigan using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. Data represents the average temperatures from December 2023 to February 2024; the historic average is the average for these months from 1901 to 2000. All temperatures are in Fahrenheit.
#24. Alpena County (tie)
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 30.1 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 19.5 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +10.6 degrees
Darlene Stanley // Shutterstock
2 / 25#24. Roscommon County (tie)
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 30.1 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 18.9 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +11.2 degrees
#20. Alcona County (tie)
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 29.9 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 19.6 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +10.3 degrees
#20. Emmet County (tie)
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 29.9 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 19.0 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +10.9 degrees
Roberto Galan // Shutterstock
5 / 25#20. Montmorency County (tie)
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 29.9 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 18.5 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +11.4 degrees
Roberto Galan // Shutterstock
6 / 25#20. Presque Isle County (tie)
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 29.9 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 19.0 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +10.8 degrees
ehrlif // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. Oscoda County
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 29.7 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 18.5 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +11.2 degrees
#18. Crawford County
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 29.6 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 18.3 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +11.3 degrees
#17. Cheboygan County
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 29.5 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 18.5 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +11 degrees
#16. Otsego County
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 29.4 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 17.8 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +11.7 degrees
#15. Menominee County
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 27.9 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 16.9 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +11 degrees
#14. Delta County
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 27.1 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 17.8 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +9.3 degrees
#13. Mackinac County
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 27.0 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 17.4 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +9.6 degrees
#11. Houghton County (tie)
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 26.8 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 14.4 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +12.5 degrees
#11. Keweenaw County (tie)
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 26.8 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 15.0 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +11.8 degrees
#7. Alger County (tie)
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 26.3 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 17.0 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +9.2 degrees
#7. Chippewa County (tie)
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 26.3 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 16.2 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +10.1 degrees
#7. Ontonagon County (tie)
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 26.3 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 13.7 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +12.6 degrees
#7. Schoolcraft County (tie)
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 26.3 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 17.6 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +8.7 degrees
#6. Dickinson County
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 26.0 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 14.2 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +11.8 degrees
#5. Luce County
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 25.5 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 16.5 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +9.1 degrees
#4. Marquette County
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 25.4 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 14.4 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +11 degrees
#3. Baraga County
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 25.3 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 13.3 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +12 degrees
#2. Gogebic County
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 24.8 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 12.3 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +12.5 degrees
#1. Iron County
- Winter 2024 average temperature: 24.5 degrees Fahrenheit
- Historic average summer temperature: 12.1 degrees
-- 2024 difference from historic average: +12.5 degrees
This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Andrea Vale, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 48 states.
