DETROIT – Alright, folks -- the town is buzzing with talk about another Polar Vortex. I'll get to the bottom of that in a minute.
First, let's look ahead toward our weekend:
Skies tonight will be mostly clear to partly cloudy, with lows in the low to mid 60s.
Mostly sunny to partly cloudy on your Saturday. I think most of the daylight hours will be dry, with shower and thunderstorm chances ramping up as we move through the evening. Highs around 83 degrees. Showers and storms are likely Saturday night, with a muggy low near 70.
On Sunday, I think we'll start the day with a shower or thunderstorm, but those should end during the morning, leaving us partly cloudy for at least half of the day. If we can minimize the Sunday morning rain, we just may escape with another mostly nice weekend! Highs in the mid 80s. Partly cloudy Sunday night, with lows in the mid 60s.
A chance of showers and thunderstorms on Monday (tough call on the timing, but right now I think that the afternoon is the best chance). Highs in the mid to upper 70s. Showers diminish Monday night, with lows in the mid 50s.
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Polar Vortex?
OK, I've been telling you for a couple of days now to expect two very chilly (by summer standards) days on Tuesday and Wednesday. THIS IS NOT A POLAR VORTEX. Some news outlets around town are saying this, but they are wrong. What's happening is that the typhoon (Neoguri) that hit southern Japan earlier in the week caused a big dip in the jet stream (called a trough) across the central Pacific, which in turn will cause a downstream big rise (called a ridge) along the west coast, which in turn will cause a big trough to develop farther downstream -- over us. Underneath this trough is well below average cold. Under that big ridge on the west coast is going to be very high heat that you'll also hear about in the news. This is a quick, two-day shot of cool air. Then it's done and we get back to the good stuff. Please don't go around talking about the Polar Vortex.
Tuesday itself will become mostly cloudy with numerous showers developing. It's going to be breezy, too, with highs only in the upper 60s. Tuesday's record for lowest high temperature ever is 60, say way back in 1945. Temps Tuesday night will bottom out in the low 50s in the heart of the metro area, possibly upper 40s to the north and far west. Wednesday morning's record low temperature is 49, also set back in 1945.
Wednesday itself should be partly cloudy with the slight chance for a shower. Highs only near 70, and that would tie the record for lowest high temperature, set way , way back in 1896.
Thursday and Friday look mostly sunny and very pleasant, with highs between 75 and 80!
And now a quick word about the Port Huron to Mackinac Race weather: Thunderstorms are possible Saturday night…this is something that all of the boaters will need to monitor. Remember that this is a continuous race over three days, so there's no pulling into port to wait for the weather to pass…ships will be sailing through any storms that cross Lake Huron, which is always a great concern to me due to lightning and strong, sudden wind gusts that can accompany any storm.
A cold front will cross Lake Huron on Sunday, generating plenty of wind for (hopefully) a quick race this year. I've participated as a crewmember in two of these events, and it gets pretty frustrating in light wind when you don't finish until Tuesday. But we don't need thunderstorms, either -- so if you're racing in this year's race, I wish you the best of luck, and a safe journey -- and a special shout out to you "Old Goats!"