Honing in on the weekend forecast for metro Detroit

How long will it stay steamy?

DETROIT – Before getting to the forecast, just a quick reminder in case you missed it earlier that I wrote a detailed article about the strong El Niño in the Pacific and its potential impact (a significant one) on our upcoming winter.

Based upon the fact that it has been the number one article being viewed on ClickOnDetroit.com most of the day, and also has been shared at least 350 times on the Local 4 Facebook page, it's certainly an article that you need to see (especially if you have strong feelings -- good or bad -- about winter). The article can be seen here.

Recommended Videos



Alright, on to the forecast:

Scattered thunderstorms should pop up over southeast Michigan during the mid-to-late afternoon period, although not everybody will see one. Some of those storms could be briefly strong -- I expect these to be what we meteorologists call "pulse" storms: they explode quickly, then fall apart just as quickly, with others doing the same during the hottest part of the afternoon. Any storms we do get should steadily die off between 7 and 8 p.m., leaving us partly cloudy for the remainder of the night.

As I mentioned yesterday, we're entering a stretch of very uncomfortable sleeping weather if you don't have air conditioning, and lows tonight will only drop to around 70° (21° Celsius for you Canadians). Remember that it takes all night to get to that temperature -- it'll be even warmer when you and I try to get to sleep later this evening. Light southwest wind will become nearly calm, so there won't be much of a breeze coming in the windows. If you don't have air conditioning, I hope you at least have a fan.

Our Saturday should start partly cloudy, and it's going to be a hot and steamy day. The heat and humidity will create a very unstable atmosphere during the afternoon, so a few thunderstorms are possible -- but many more of us won't see anything than will. Hopefully, any storms that do pop up stay away from Woodward Avenue! Steamy highs should average around 87° (30° Celsius), with a southwest wind at 5 to 10 mph. Saturday's sunrise is at 6:40 AM, and Saturday's sunset is at 8:34 PM.

Saturday night itself should be dry, but continued warm and muggy with lows in the low 70s (22° Celsius). Then mostly sunny, hot and humid on Sunday, with highs near 90° (32° Celsius).

Mostly clear, warm and muggy Sunday night, with lows in the low 70s.

It's still going to be hot and humid on Monday, with a scattered afternoon thunderstorm possible. Highs again near 90°.

Thunderstorms are likely Monday night, with lows in the upper 60s.

Depending upon the timing of the approaching cold front, we may start Tuesday with some lingering showers and storms, but those should move out and we'll hopefully end up with a dry afternoon. Highs in the low 80s.

Partly cloudy Tuesday night, with lows in the low to mid 60s.

The Wednesday and Thursday timeframe appears to be quite unsettled, with periodic showers and thunderstorms. My long-range computer models are in tremendous disagreement on the details, so it'll be a while before I can pin down the timing. But, right now, plan on a stormy stretch.