DETROIT – Most people have portrayed Metro Detroit's rainy week with only perspective of the negative impacts, like flooded freeways, basements and golf courses.
But there is one very important positive that can't be ignored: we just came out of a very dry summer, and this soil really needed a moisture recharge.
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Here’s the deal: had we remained dry through the fall, and then the ground froze for the winter, we’d be in a tough situation if we had a dry spring, because there would be very little soil moisture from before the ground froze to tap into, and we’d quickly head into potential drought conditions during the hot summer months.
So for those of you who haven’t had to deal with the flooding rain’s negative impacts, be thankful we got this massive soaker.
Rainfall amounts
As for rain amounts, in the 48 hours ending Friday morning, it’s no wonder that our hardest-hit areas had so much flooding: some spots got between 3 and 6 inches of rain.
For added perspective, Metro Airport’s 3.47 inches received in those 48 hours were more than its total rainfall received in June and July combined. Wow!
Looking ahead
Friday night will bring more batches of rain through the area. While we won’t see the extraordinary amounts that fell over the past two days, don’t be surprised if some areas get an inch of rain or more. Lows will be in the upper 50s (14-15 degrees Celsius). Winds will be northeast to east at 10 to 15 mph.
Saturday is going to be interesting. Any steadier rain still in the area at daybreak should move out, leaving us with just scattered showers. Then, as the big upper level cut-off low pressure area I’ve been telling you about all week starts moving back at us, we actually could see some breaks of sunshine develop.
If that happens, it’ll destabilize the atmosphere more and give us the chance for some scattered thunderstorms during the mid-to-late afternoon.
Those of you going to Michigan Stadium for the big Michigan game versus Wisconsin need to be aware of this, and bring rain gear even if things don’t look so bad as you head to Ann Arbor. Temperatures should reach the mid- to upper 60s (19-20 degrees Celsius), depending on if we get that sunshine. Wind will be light, and blow from a generally east or southeast direction. Go Blue!
Click here to read Paul's Michigan football forecast for Saturday
Saturday’s sunrise is at 7:31 a.m., and Saturday’s sunset is at 7:14 p.m.
Showers are still possible Saturday night, with lows in the mid-50s (13-14 degrees Celsius).
It will be cloudy with a few breaks on Sunday, with scattered showers yet again possible. Highs will be in the upper 60s (20 degrees Celsius).
Rosetta, the spacecraft that has been orbiting Comet 67P for the past two years, ended its mission today, and mission scientists ended it in a weird way. Paul Gross explains here.
Showers diminish (finally!) Sunday night, with lows in the mid-50s (12 degrees Celsius).
Get ready for this: a day without a rain mention! What a concept. It will be partly cloudy on Monday, with highs in the upper 60s (20 degrees Celsius). One thing to keep in mind after all of the rain we’ve had is the possibility for early morning dense fog on any day that has clear skies the night before, along with light winds.
Tuesday and Wednesday look spectacular, with mostly sunny skies and highs in the low to mid-70s (21-23 degrees Celsius).
A cold front approaches for late Thursday, but I think Hurricane Matthew heading up the west Atlantic will slow it down, giving us mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. Highs will be in the low 70s (22 degrees Celsius).
Showers are likely Thursday night into Friday morning, and it looks as if we’ll be cooler, but dry heading into next weekend.
Hurricane Matthew update
Matthew strengthened to Category 4 status Friday, with winds of 130 mph Friday afternoon.
This is a major, dangerous hurricane, which will track close to Jamaica late Sunday into Monday. Even though it appears that the storm will barely stay just east of Jamaica, and thus keep its strongest winds offshore, now that the storm is slated to be so strong, the island is very much at risk for significant impacts.
If you have travel plans there this weekend, I strongly suggest re-evaluating those plans. After Jamaica, Matthew will track over the eastern end of Cuba, and then right into the Bahamas chain of islands late Tuesday into Wednesday, with a significant impact to many of those islands.
Same caveat if you have travel plans there early next week. After that, the computer models suggest any number of scenarios, from staying well out to sea and not impacting the U.S. East Coast, to coming near North Carolina’s Outer Banks, to crashing into parts of New England.
Keep checking the Tropical Tracker on our free Local4Casters app if you have travel plans to New England late next week.