Readiness
Active Weather
Fog is today's item. Dense fog advisories this morning cover most of Michigan, from Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Flint through Grand Rapids and Lansing to the northern Lower Peninsula and the Upper Peninsula; northeast and southeast Wisconsin, including Green Bay, Milwaukee, and Kenosha; the North Shore and Duluth area of Minnesota; and Lake County, Illinois. Visibility can drop to a quarter mile or less. Slow down, use low beam headlights, and leave extra distance. The advisories run out between 9 AM and noon.
Northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana have special weather statements for patchy dense fog this morning.
Infrastructure
Two small fires managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources are still listed by the National Interagency Fire Center: the Ridge fire, about six miles north of Negaunee, at 466 acres and 50 percent contained with structures threatened, and the Black River fire near Wakefield at 326 acres and 70 percent contained. Both show minimal fire behavior.
Ohio has a federal major disaster declaration from October 2 for severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding, and Wisconsin has one from October 7 for severe storms and tornadoes. Both include Individual Assistance for households. If you had damage and have not applied, check your county at disasterassistance.gov.
Public Health
No public health advisories found for the Great Lakes.
Food recalls posted by the Food and Drug Administration this week include Gelatelli coffee and vanilla gelato sold at Lidl for possible Listeria, Starfish Seafood cold smoked salmon for possible Listeria, and Family Farmstead raw mild cheddar cheese for possible E. coli. The full list, with lot codes, is at fda.gov/recalls.
Two sources we check could not be read this morning: the CDC Health Alert Network, for national health advisories, and AirNow, for air quality readings. Check emergency.cdc.gov/han and airnow.gov directly.
Watch Item
The Weather Prediction Center expects a weather system to move from the central Rockies through the Upper Midwest early next week with some rain and snow, followed by warmer than average temperatures across the eastern half of the country. Nothing in the five day outlook is flagged as widely hazardous.
Late October fog mornings are a good test of your car's lights. Check that both headlights and the fog lights, if you have them, actually work before the darker commutes after the time change on November 1.
Living Ready
Ohio's HEAP Winter Crisis Program opens November 2
The Winter Crisis Program runs from November 2 through March 31 for households at or below 175 percent of federal poverty guidelines. It pays up to $175 for customers of regulated electric or gas utilities, up to $750 for municipal or co-op customers, and up to $1,200 for bulk fuel such as propane or fuel oil, with a separate benefit of up to $1,500 to repair or replace a heating unit. Book an appointment with your local energy assistance provider through energyhelp.ohio.gov, and bring proof of income and recent bills.
Ohio · Source: Ohio Consumers' Counsel, program fact sheet, current season
Pumpkin smash: compost your jack-o'-lanterns in Illinois
University of Illinois Extension is collecting post-Halloween pumpkins for composting on November 1 in McLean County, November 7 in Cook, Kane, Lee, Macon, and McDonough counties, and November 8 at a second Cook County site. Remove candles, paint, ribbons, and anything else that is not pumpkin before you drop it off. Find the nearest site at go.illinois.edu/PumpkinSmash.
Illinois · Source: University of Illinois Extension, October 14, 2026
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