Michigan in Pictures

In the Clutches of the Polar Vortex

Posted on January 23, 2026January 23, 2026 by farlane

In the Clutches of the Polar Vortex by Brian Ertl

mLive shares that the National Weather Service has expanded the Extreme Cold Warning area across most of the state:

The only places not under an Extreme Cold Warning are the Southeast corner of the state – from Saginaw and The Thumb down to Flint, Ann Arbor and Detroit, as well as the Lansing and Jackson area along the southern rim of Michigan. Those southern and eastern spots are under a Cold Weather Advisory, as the cold is not expected to be quite as severe there.

The Extreme Cold Warning now covers the Upper Peninsula – where wind chills could plummet to -45 degrees over the next couple of days – and all of Northern Michigan and West Michigan. This extreme warning covers Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon, Traverse City, Gaylord and the Tip of the Mitt, too.

That’s a big yikes from me! Brian took this when we were deep in the polar vortex of January of 2019 from the South Pier in Grand Haven. See his latest on Flickr and STAY WARM!

PS: If you want to tune into the current scene in Grand Haven, check out the Grand Haven South Pier Cam!

Detroit Photo Meetup: You Gotta Have Art

Posted on January 22, 2026 by farlane

Detroit Institute of Arts by Coretta Billy

A lot of the photographers I feature on Michigan in Pictures as well as many readers are from the Detroit area. If you are and are interested in growing your skills and/or your network of photographers, I encourage you to check out the “Click & Create: Detroit Photography Meetup” this Saturday, Jan 24th 10:00 AM at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

They write: “Join us for a photography meet-up designed to spark creativity across all ages and skill levels. We’ll explore the space together, work from shared shot lists, compare styles, and trade inspiration as we capture fresh perspectives in the heart of the city …. Meet inside the Woodward Entrance. Bring your camera or phone. No flash photography. No tripods or extra equipment. Just your eye, your curiosity, and your creative energy.”

Coretta Billy shared the event with me. She specializes in portraits & events, and is of the photographers who will be in attendance. You can follow her on Facebook and view & purchase her work at corettabillyiecphotography.com.

A Legitimate Snowbird

Posted on January 21, 2026January 21, 2026 by farlane

Yogi the Piping Plover at Cumberland Island by Dan Vickers

“You think YOU’RE a snowbird? Please.” – -Yogi the Great Lakes Piping Plover

Michigan in Pictures features almost exclusively photos from Michigan, but every so often there’s one that will have me reaching beyond our borders. Such is the case with this photo of Yogi the Piping Plover from Cumberland Island all the way down in Georgia that was recently shared by the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort. Yogi hails from the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, but his preferred nesting site is the wild and busy Silver Lake State Park.

They explain that the Piping Plover is a small shorebird that is listed as an Endangered Species and nests in three separate geographic populations in the United States and Canada: The Northern Great Plains, the shores of the Great Lakes, and along the Atlantic coast. Birds from all three populations winter on the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts in the United States & in the Caribbean.

Regarding the distinctive bands, they say: Great Lakes Piping Plover chicks are banded between five and sixteen days of age. Since shorebirds are precocial (Like chickens, Piping Plover chicks begin running around, feeding themselves within hours of hatching), these chicks have well developed legs, which makes it possible for us to band them with adult-sized bands at a young age. The bands we use are made of either plastic or aluminum, and they are very lightweight. Every sibling in a plover brood gets the same color and arrangement of three or four bands (depending on the band color-pattern used). This is called a “brood-marker combination”. There aren’t enough possible combinations available to give every chick their own unique identifier from hatching, but by giving the chicks from the same family, or brood, the same combination we can study such things as parental success, fledging rates, and return success.

Here’s a few more Piping Plover pics – visit greatlakespipingplover.org for more and to help support their work!

Why last night’s northern lights were underwhelming

Posted on January 20, 2026January 20, 2026 by farlane

Throwback to Nov 12 2025 by Watermark Photography

It’s very rare that we have aurora alerts at the G4 storm level and rarer still that they disappoint so northern lights aficionados were pretty excited about the kP8/G4 Aurora Alert was issued for last night. While hopes were high & some good shots were taken, the actual output was surprisingly muted & short-lived. Our friends at EarthSky explain that this was due to the arrangement of the CME’s magnetic field limiting how much energy actually reached Earth’s atmosphere & shaping which regions saw auroras and which did not.

During the CME’s initial impact phase, the Bz briefly dipped strongly southward. So that allowed solar wind energy to flow efficiently into Earth’s magnetic field. This short-lived interaction quickly caused G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm levels, with Kp (another measure of Earth’s magnetic disturbance) exceeding 8.

Soon after the initial impact, the character of the severe geomagnetic storm changed dramatically. As Earth moved deeper into the core of the CME, the Bz – again, the orientation of the sun’s magnetic field – turned strongly northward. This sustained northward orientation sharply limited the transfer of transfer into Earth’s magnetosphere. And that was what restricted the auroras, despite the overall strength of the storm.

Jeff took this photo from Elberta Pier back in November of 2025 on a night the lights definitely did not disappoint! Follow Watermark Photography on Facebook and see more great shots in the A Little Night Music gallery on his website.

Lake Michigan Icebox

Posted on January 19, 2026January 19, 2026 by farlane

M/V John J Boland by Andrew Dean Aerial Photography

mLive shares that although Lake Michigan will still help “warm” lower Michigan this week, it will still be dangerously cold. The coldest air will come around the south end of Lake Michigan and plunge wind chills for southern Michigan into the -25 to -35 degree range Monday into Tuesday morning & it’s not much better for the rest of the state!

Detroit, Ann Arbor and Southeast Michigan: Sub-zero wind chills on Monday and Tuesday, falling as low as -15 degrees.
West Michigan: Monday and Tuesday’s wind chills could hit -20 degrees.
Northern Michigan: Wind chills could fall to -25 by Tuesday morning.
Upper Peninsula: “High confidence (>75%) for wind chills near or below -25F Monday morning and Tuesday morning for most of the U.P.,” the National Weather Service in Marquette said.“ Cold Weather Advisory for northern Houghton and Keweenaw Counties Monday morning.”

Andrew got these photos of freezing fog & spray turning the M/V John J. Boland into a floating icebox on Lake Michigan as she headed towards Indiana back in December. Follow him on Facebook and for sure visit his website for photos and information about his drone photography services!

Testing the lights on the Gordie Howe Bridge

Posted on January 16, 2026January 16, 2026 by farlane

Testing the lights on Gordie Howe International Bridge

The Gordie Howe International Bridge shares an interesting article & video on their ongoing Aesthetic Lighting Testing than 6,000 programmable, energy-efficient white LED fixtures have been installed across the bridge towers, stay cables, back span, piers, approach span and bridge deck. Each fixture is designed to last more than 100,000 hours with linear lights having the longest lifespan lasting up to 280,000 hours (10 to 30 years!).

Check out the video below along with some nighttime photos shared by the Bridge Authority, and see lots more about the Gordie Howe Bridge on Michigan in Pictures!

Bohemian Waxwings

Posted on January 15, 2026 by farlane

Bohemian Waxwing by Sheen Watkins Photography

Sheen recently shared her winter encounter with Bohemian waxwings that says (in part):

Often mistaken for their more familiar cousins, the Cedar Waxwings, Bohemian Waxwings differences are quite noticeable. Slightly larger, with muted gray bodies and warm cinnamon accents beneath their wings, tail and on their lores. Their soft, almost melted waxy looking plummage complements winter’s softer light.

…They arrived the way waxwings always do—suddenly and together. A flock descended on a cluster of trees heavy with berries, moving with a quiet, choreographed urgency. Waxwings are communal feeders, virtually overtaking a tree before moving on. They arrive, thrive, and leave—often as quickly as they appeared.

That fleeting time of when then move south combined with their behavior is what makes these encounters feel so rare. Seeing Bohemian Waxwings each winter is never a guarantee. Some years they pass unseen. Other years, luck and timing intersect, and I find myself standing in the cold, bundled and unmoving, watching bird life unfold just feet away.

Read on for much more & for sure follow Sheen Watkins Photography on Facebook & check out her website for more work!

More birds on Michigan in Pictures.

Get ready for the 2026 Detroit Auto Show!

Posted on January 14, 2026 by farlane

Detroit Auto Show by Montez Miller / Tell Us Detroit

The annual Detroit Auto Show kicks off today at Huntington Place in Downtown Detroit. This annual celebration of automotive design & car culture runs January 14-25, 2026 & features new models, test tracks, and all kinds of auto related fun.

Montez Miller of Tell Us Detroit was there for an early look with Autot Show officials and new Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield. You can follow Tell Us Detroit’s coverage on Facebook, click to check out her video with some photo highlights of the preview, also also see highlights in the Detroit Auto Show’s hype video featuring GMac Cash. It’s really a great experience for car lovers!

Superior Crystal

Posted on January 13, 2026January 13, 2026 by farlane

Superior Crystal by Aubrieta Hope

Aubrieta shared this incredible shot of a sunset over Lake Superior in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Follow Michigan scenery on Facebook for her latest and view & purchase her work on her website.

Michigan DNR seeking summer workers

Posted on January 12, 2026 by farlane

Bear Triplets by Ross Ellet

Are you looking for a summer job in the outdoors or do you know someone who is? The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is looking for new members for their 1,300 person team of summer park workers and spend the season in Michigan state parks, boating facilities, and other amazing outdoor spaces. You’ll welcome visitors, help campers, and keep our parks looking their best. With flexible scheduling, these positions are perfect for college students, teachers, retirees or anyone interested in working at Michigan state parks. Apply online today!

While you may not be able to hold three bear cubs like DNR worker in these photos, you might be able to! You’ll also be making the state better for everything that Michigan in Pictures is about, so if you do get a summer internship with the DNR and want to share a photo here every so often with a link to support you, just send me an email and we’ll work it out!

Ross took these shots of baby black bears being held during a bear den visit way back in April of 2014. See more in his awesome Wildlife gallery on Flickr and view & purchase his work at rossellet.com.

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“You think YOU’RE a snowbird? Please.” – -Yogi the Great Lakes Piping Plover

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