I-94 · IL / IN / MI
I-94 from Chicago to Detroit: road conditions right now
Chicago, IL to Detroit, MI
I-94 leaves Chicago through northwest Indiana, enters Michigan near the Lake Michigan shore at Benton Harbor, then runs east through Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Jackson and Ann Arbor to Detroit. The southwest Michigan stretch nearest the lake is where lake-effect snow squalls cause sudden whiteouts.
Plan this drive for your departure timeConditions at Wed, 3:02 AM EST
Highest risk along I-94: 2 of 5 (low), departing at that time.
- No active NWS alerts on this route.
The road authority linked below has the final word on closures and chain requirements.
Clear driving for the whole 4 h 13 min.
Conditions: Light rain, Light rain showers
Checkpoints along I-94
| Where | You pass | Weather | Risk | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL | Wed 4:00 AM | 66°F | low | Nothing flagged |
| New Chicago, IN | Wed 4:30 AM | 66°F | low | Likely light rain |
| New Buffalo, MI | Wed 5:00 AM | 65°F | low | Likely light rain |
| Benton Heights, MI | Wed 5:30 AM | 65°F | low | Likely light rain |
| Mattawan, MI | Wed 6:00 AM | 64°F | low | Likely light rain |
| Brownlee Park, MI | Wed 6:30 AM | 64°F | low | Light rain |
| Spring Arbor, MI | Wed 7:00 AM | 63°F | low | Light rain |
| Dexter, MI | Wed 7:30 AM | 62°F | low | Likely light rain |
| Redford, MI | Wed 8:00 AM | 64°F | low | Likely light rain |
| Detroit, MI | Wed 8:13 AM | 65°F | low | Likely light rain |
Why this stretch is hard in winter
- On February 7, 2003, a lake-effect snow squall caused a 75-vehicle chain-reaction pileup on I-94 near Benton Center in Berrien County. NWS Northern Indiana had issued a Lake Effect Snow Warning two hours earlier; nearly 12 miles of the freeway closed for over 10 hours.
- The NWS says heavy lake-effect snow can fall in one place while the sun shines a mile or two away, so clear roads in Chicago or Kalamazoo say little about the stretch near the lake.
- Four NWS offices cover the drive: Chicago (Cook County, and Lake and Porter counties in Indiana), Northern Indiana (LaPorte and Berrien counties), Grand Rapids (Van Buren County to Jackson) and Detroit (Washtenaw and Wayne).
What this page checks
- Hourly forecast at every checkpoint for the time you would be there: temperature, precipitation type and rate, gusts, visibility.
- Active National Weather Service watches, warnings, and advisories on the route.
- Snow on the ground (NOAA SNODAS) and the Weather Prediction Center winter impact outlook.
- Pavement temperature and surface state from state DOT road sensors, when you are leaving within a few hours.
- Chain controls, closures, and winter road condition reports from state DOT feeds where they are published openly.
- Seasonal closures of mountain roads the router might otherwise use.
Official sources for this corridor
Questions drivers ask about I-94
- What is lake-effect snow?
- Snow that forms when cold air crosses the open, relatively warm water of the Great Lakes and builds narrow bands that can drop 2 to 3 inches per hour or more, according to the National Weather Service.
- Where does lake-effect snow hit on I-94?
- In southwest Michigan near Lake Michigan. NWS Northern Indiana issues Lake Effect Snow Warnings for Berrien County, and the 2003 Benton Center pileup happened in a lake-effect squall there. Bands move with the wind, so check the forecast for the hour you will cross that stretch.
- Where do I check I-94 closures?
- MDOT Mi Drive for Michigan and Indiana 511 for the Indiana stretch. This page adds the hourly forecast at each stretch and active alerts from all four NWS offices on the route.
Conditions change by the hour. This page is a planning aid built on public forecasts and DOT feeds; the road authority linked above has the final word on closures and chain requirements.
Nearby corridors: I-90 from Erie to Buffalo · I-80 across Pennsylvania · I-35 from Minneapolis to Des Moines · I-81 from Harrisburg to Syracuse · I-90 (Thruway) from Buffalo to Albany · I-40 Memphis to Nashville · all corridors