Executive Order 2019-1: Declaration of State of Emergency

The National Weather Service has issued multiple winter weather warnings across the State of Michigan beginning Tuesday, January 29, 2019. These warnings predict extremely cold weather as an Arctic airmass settles over the region and brings record or near-record low temperatures, accompanied by gusty winds. Wind chills are predicted as low as 50 degrees below zero in many places.

Possible effects include disruptions in travel and commerce, and the threat of frostbite, hypothermia, or even death if proper precautions are not taken. 

These extreme conditions are predicted across the Upper and Lower Peninsulas and will extend to areas less accustomed to extreme cold temperatures, such as the metropolitan Detroit area. Such widespread, extreme conditions have not occurred in Michigan for many years.

Under the Emergency Management Act, 1976 PA 390, MCL 30.403(4), "[t]he governor shall, by executive order or proclamation, declare a state of emergency if he or she finds that an emergency has occurred or that the threat of an emergency exists."

Therefore, acting pursuant to the Michigan Constitution of 1963 and Michigan law, including the Emergency Management Act, 1976 PA 390, MCL 30.401 to 30.421, I order the following:

1. A state of emergency is declared across the State of Michigan.

2. The Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division of the Department of State Police will coordinate and maximize all state efforts that may be activated to state service to assist local governments and officials and may call upon all state departments to utilize available resources to assist consistent with the Michigan Emergency Management Plan.

3. The state of emergency is terminated when emergency conditions no longer exist and appropriate programs have been implemented to recover from any effects of the emergency conditions, but in no case later than Saturday, February 2, 2019. 

Click to view the full PDF of the executive order.