Detroit, MI – As Michigan braces for the first snow of the season, particularly along I-75, drivers are being reminded to prepare for slick highways and sub-freezing temperatures. But imagine being trapped inside your car for two months, surviving only on handfuls of snow.
According to the Daily Mail, a 44-year-old Swedish man was discovered in February 2012 after surviving roughly 60 days snowed-in inside his car near the town of Umea in northern Sweden. Authorities said his car became buried after a snowstorm on December 19, and he lived on snow alone as temperatures plunged to -30°C (-22°F).
Experts called his survival “a miracle.” Some suggested his body entered a hibernation-like state, slowing his metabolism, while others credited the “igloo effect” of the snow-covered car, which trapped just enough warmth to keep him alive.
When rescuers found him, he was emaciated and barely conscious, wrapped in a sleeping bag with only cigarettes and comic books nearby. Doctors at Umea University Hospital said he suffered from severe hypothermia and malnourishment—but somehow survived.
With early snow hitting before Thanksgiving, Michigan emergency officials urge drivers to carry cold-weather survival kits with blankets, snacks, and water in their vehicles. As the Great Lakes State gears up for another long winter, one chilling question remains: Could you survive stuck on I-75 for two months like he did?
