This story has been updated to reflect official temperature data from the National Weather Service.

NILES —  An arctic mass gripped the Michiana region starting Tuesday night, plummeting temperatures into the subzero range and creating daily recorded lows throughout the region. The National Weather Service issued a wind chill warning through 1 a.m. Friday. Wind chills were expected to reach -45 degrees Fahrenheit.

However, just as residents begin adjusting to the frigid weather, warmer air from the south is forecast to push in, bringing daily-record highs for parts of southwest Michigan at the beginning of next week.

Some daily cold records shattered

While it was initially reported that unofficial data indicated that temperatures were on track to shatter records, official data recorded Thursday showed otherwise.

Meteorologist Mark Steinwedel, with the National Weather Service of Northern Indiana, reported that Niles temperatures Wednesday broke a daily-record low. According to Steinwedel, temperatures dipped to -13 in Niles, marking it as the fourth coldest day on record. The last record-breaking cold was reported to be -15 on Jan. 28, 2014.

One mile west of Dowagiac, recorded temperatures -14 Wednesday. This did not break any records, Steinwedel said. The coldest day on record near Dowagiac was reported to be -23 on Feb. 7, 1978.

Over the state line in Indiana, South Bend temperatures dropped to -20 Wednesday, which marked another daily record.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency earlier this week in response to the deep freeze. Across southwest Michigan, municipal leaders and police advised residents to stay indoors and keep off the roads. Many offices and businesses shuttered their doors or closed early Monday to Thursday. Several local businesses, including Michiana Heating & Air Conditioning, UltraCamp and the Niles Salvation Army,  opened their doors to serve as temporary warming stations in Niles.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency earlier this week in response to the deep freeze. Across southwest Michigan, municipal leaders and police advised residents to stay indoors and keep off the roads. Many offices and businesses shuttered their doors or closed early Monday to Thursday. Several local businesses, including Michiana Heating & Air Conditioning, UltraCamp and the Niles Salvation Army,  opened their doors to serve as temporary warming stations in Niles.

Warm weather to seep in

While the southwest Michigan area saw snow and cold throughout most of the week, Dodson said warmer air would soon arrive.

“The system that brought us the first snow batch pulled down some of that arctic air — it is just chilling over us right now — no pun intended,” Dodson said. “As this next system approaches us, it is going to force the air mass out and bring in some of the warmer air from the south.”

Temperatures will start to climb Friday, with the high forecast to be 19 degrees. On Saturday a high of 39 is anticipated, followed by a high of 43 Sunday and a high of 48 degrees Monday, Feb. 4, according to the National Weather Service. If temperatures reach 48 degrees Monday, that will be a daily-high for Niles and
Benton Harbor.

The all-time high for Niles in February was 65 degrees on Feb. 20, 2018. During this time, residents across southwest Michigan saw flooding and the St. Joseph River rose to historic levels.

Dodson said while flooding is not an immediate threat yet, weather officials will continue monitoring conditions.

“Right now, [flooding] is a concern in the back of our minds,” Dodson said. “Because we will get a little more snow. If we get a lot of snow and it melts really quick and if the ground is frozen it could cause increased runoff and ponding around the area.”

Ice jams breaking up on local rivers, resulting in higher water flow, is another concern that meteorologists will be analyzing as temperatures climb.

Dodson said meteorologists would continue to analyze as the cold was swept away. Residents can view more weather information at weather.gov.

“We are going to have to keep an eye on it,” Dodson said. “[There] is nothing we can say definitively right now.”