This week, Michigan, and much of North America, is getting blasted with cold air from the Arctic. Michigan typically gets cold, winter air from southern Alaska. Right now, it’s coming from the Arctic.
Jia Wang is an ice climatologist at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor. He studies both the Great Lakes and the Arctic regions.
That cold air getting blasted to us from the Arctic is due to a series of complicated oceanographic, atmospheric and climate change-induced factors. With climate change warming up global temperatures, the temperature gradient weakens. That can weaken the polar jet stream and let frigid Arctic air escape and move farther south.
“As the global temperature increases, the Arctic temperature may increase as well, and the difference between the Arctic and mid-latitude becomes smaller,” Wang said.
Last year, Wang and his colleagues published a paper about increasingly extreme temperatures of large lakes. He said these colder lake temperatures may create even more lake effect snow.
When the snow falls
Lauren Thompson-Phillips, public information officer with the Michigan State Police, advises people to not travel, if they can.
“You're safer inside where it's warm,” Thompson-Phillips said. “Not everybody has that luxury. Clearly, people do have to go outside. So anybody who is going out, we definitely encourage [you] to dress warm, you know, lots of layers.”
She also said, in case of a power outage, to remember alternative heating sources, like generators, should never be used indoors or near windows, and she said it's important to check carbon monoxide alarms, making sure they’re working properly.
Thompson-Phillips also recommended keeping emergency kits in your home and car.
“I think sometimes living in Michigan, we can think, ‘Oh, we're used to it. We see this every year,’” Thompson-Phillips said. “But, there are those instances that we learn from, you know, like we saw earlier this week with the 100 plus pileup in West Michigan.”
For homes, she recommends keeping a three day supply of water; that means one gallon of water per person in your home per day. So, a family of four should keep 12 gallons of water on hand. Additionally, people should keep nonperishable food, a battery-powered radio, and other basics, like flashlights, batteries, a first aid kit, and items specific to your family, like any medication, baby formula, diapers or pet supplies.
For cars, Thompson-Phillips suggests jumper cables, flares, reflective triangles, and a shovel, in case you need to dig out your exhaust pipe. Not to mention, nonperishable food, a flashlight, batteries, warm clothes, a blanket and a small tool kit with pliers and a wrench.
“You could find yourself in an unexpected situation where you are spending quite a bit of time stuck in your car,” Thompson-Phillips said. “It's another reminder to, in the winter, keep your car full of gas.”
When traveling outside
Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw said accidents happen for two reasons.
“The first is people are just going too fast for [the] conditions,” Shaw said. “And I think a lot of it is, people get a little overconfident. Maybe there's not enough snow on the ground where they feel something would happen to them. And then, the second is just following too closely.”
He recommended adding one car of space between you and the vehicle in front of you for every 10 mph increase in speed. As for which type of weather causes the most accidents, he said the weather only amplifies risky driving behavior, such as driving too fast, too close, impaired, or distracted.
“The facts show it every time,” Shaw said. “Weather doesn't cause crashes, drivers do.”
If you do end up in an accident and call the Michigan State Police, be prepared to wait. Shaw said the weather is going to cause slower response times.
“We wouldn't be very responsible if we were driving like the person that ended up in the ditch,” Shaw said. “We're no help at all if we end up in the ditch with you.”
On exploding trees
It’s rare, but trees can explode when there's a wild temperature swing from near freezing temperatures to very, very cold temperatures quickly.
Julie Crick, natural resources educator with Michigan State University Extension, said while temperatures did swing nearly 30 degrees recently, the past couple of days were also well below freezing, making it unlikely for trees to explode.
As for what types of trees explode, Crick said it depends on the size of the cells that carry water as they are growing. She said trees can either be characterized as ring porous or diffuse porous.
Ring-porous trees, such as oak, hickories or elms, are more likely to explode in the winter because of the larger water carrying cells.
"Bottom line is, that while trees can explode, it is rare and occurs under the right weather conditions,” Crick said. “Ring porous species will create a startling pop, but they will recover. There isn’t much that can be done to prevent this from happening."
