DETROIT – Friday is the observed Fourth of July holiday since the 4th falls on a weekend this year, so this means a three or four day weekend for many people.
Our weather so far this summer hasn't been the greatest, and we're all craving for some great weather to coincide with our time off work. Well, this time we'll get it!
Here are the weather details for the holiday weekend, and I am also including boating and up north weather later in this article.
Have a safe and wonderful holiday!
Friday: Mostly sunny, with highs between 75° and 80° (26° Celsius). Northeast to east wind at 5 to 10 mph. Friday's sunrise is at 6:02 AM, and Friday's sunset is at 9:13 PM.
Friday night: Mostly clear with very light wind. Lows in the mid to upper 50s (14° Celsius).
Saturday: Mostly sunny with a light southwest wind. Highs in the low to mid 80s (28° Celsius). NOTE: a weak cold front will be dropping down from northern Michigan, and then dissipating. However, before it dissipates, some models try to generate a brief late afternoon or evening shower or thunderstorm north of I-69. This is by no means guaranteed, and I wouldn't cancel any plans right now. However, this is the perfect situation to make sure that you have the FREE Local4Casters weather app on your phone (just search the app store under WDIV…it's right there). The radar display is great, and helps you monitor any weather that develops. Something else on the app that's uber-cool is the earthquake layer, that lets you see any earthquake that occurs around the world. If you tap any earthquake dot on the map, you get details! Lots of people were looking at our earthquake layer after this week's quake near Battle Creek.
Saturday night: Mostly clear with light wind. Lows in the low to mid 60s (17° Celsius). Any brief early evening shower or thunderstorm north of I-69 should end quickly, and most (if not all) of the night should be dry.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with highs in the low to mid 80s (28° Celsius).
Sunday night: Mostly clear and warmer, with lows in the mid 60s (18° Celsius).
Monday: Mostly sunny and becoming more humid. Highs in the mid 80s (29° Celsius).
Monday night: Mostly clear and muggy, with lows in the upper 60s (20° Celsius).
Tuesday: A period of thunderstorms is likely as a cold front crosses the area. Highs near 80° (27° Celsius).
Up North Weather: The northern half of the Lower Peninsula will have similar weather to our weather here downstate. The only exception is a slightly better chance for a shower or thunderstorm Friday night. Otherwise, most of Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday should be mostly sunny and very pleasant, with highs between 75° and 80° and overnight lows between 52° and 56° through Sunday. Things then warm up on Monday, with highs in the low 80s. Wind should be generally light.
Boating Weather: As discussed above, we'll have ideal weather this weekend for just about any activity, and especially on the water. The only chance for a brief shower or thunderstorm is late Saturday afternoon or early Saturday evening on southern Lake Huron and, right now, I think it's a pretty small chance. But it is a chance, so do stay aware of things if you'll be out on Lake Huron at that time…check the radar on our free weather app every so often. As far as wind is concerned, it appears light (5 to 10 knots) through the weekend, blowing from a generally easterly direction on Friday, variable on Saturday, trending more southeast or southerly on Sunday, and southerly to southwesterly on Monday. Waves through the period generally appear to be two feet or less.
Golf: Ideal weather through the weekend, which means that you can't use the weather as an excuse for that big slice or hook.
Important: The sun's rays are at their strongest of the entire year right now. You will burn if exposed without protection.
Fair skinned people, in particular, can burn in less than twenty minutes if exposed during the midday period. I realize that this is a touchy subject for some people ... ome of you don't want to be "bothered" with hats and sunscreen. Well, it's common knowledge that every sunburn you get increases your chance of developing skin cancer ... some forms of which are deadly.
As someone who has had cancer and dealt with surgery and chemotherapy, trust me on this: you don't want to get it. If you don't care about protecting yourself, that's fine ...nothing I can do about that. However, PLEASE at least get sunscreen and hats on our kids.
Dermatologists over the years have told me that overexposure to the sun as a kid really gets you going on the path to skin cancer later in life. And remember that sunscreen is particularly important if you'll be on the water, because not only do you get the sun's direct rays, but the water reflects additional solar radiation at you.