DETROIT – Before getting to the forecast, just a quick word about how important the Local4Casters weather app can be to you.
Last Friday, my Saturday forecast called for rain to start moving northward across the state line between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., and steadily spread northward through the early evening. If you had outdoor activities Saturday afternoon and were monitoring the radar on our app, this is what you would have seen at 2:30 p.m.
Recommended Videos
[Local 4Casters Weather App radar display, 2:30 p.m., Saturday, April 30]
The rain had accelerated slightly, and was now moving in two to three hours ahead of schedule. While this might not have mattered much on a weekday, it matters to a LOT of us on a weekend. The Local4Casters weather app is FREE, and available in the app store by searching under WDIV. When you open the app, the radar is the first thing you see, every time.
You can zoom and pan the radar screen with your finger, and here’s the best part of all: The app follows you. It doesn’t matter where you are -- Chicago, Seattle, Sarasota, Europe (yes, Europe!) -- you can monitor approaching rain, snow, ice, and storms on your cell phone or iPad, and it doesn’t cost anything to get the app.
Even though I tweeted an update Saturday afternoon (@PGLocal4 and @Local4Casters) that the rain was moving in quicker than expected, not everybody is on Twitter. But almost all of you have a cell phone, which means you had the opportunity to monitor the approaching rain yourself anytime you wanted to.
Fortunately, this was just plain ol’ rain. Had it been thunderstorms, some of you would have had an even ruder meteorological surprise Saturday afternoon. If you have a smart phone but don’t have our app yet, what are you waiting for?
Alright, onto our forecast for the week ahead, including my first look at Mother’s Day weekend.
Clouds will gradually erode tonight, and the clearing skies combined with light wind and the moist ground from our weekend rain could lead to some patchy ground fog by Tuesday morning. Any fog that does develop, however, will burn off very quickly after the strong May sun rises. Lows in the low 40s (that 5° Celsius for our awesome Canadian brothers and sisters across the river).
Mostly sunny for most of our Tuesday, although skies may become partly cloudy during the afternoon. It’s going to be a nice day, with highs in the mid 60s (18° Celsius). The 5 to 10 mph wind will vary in its direction, but eventually settle to a southwest wind by the end of the afternoon.
Increasing clouds Tuesday night, with a shower possible late at night. Lows in the upper 40s (9° Celsius).
Showers are likely on Wednesday, with highs in the upper 50s (15° Celsius).
Showers continue Wednesday night, with lows in the low 40s (5° Celsius).
Mostly cloudy on Thursday -- perhaps we’ll see some sunshine develop by late afternoon. Highs in the upper 50s (15° Celsius).
Becoming mostly clear Thursday night, with lows in the low to mid 40s (6° Celsius).
Mostly sunny on Friday -- an awesome day to end the work week -- with highs in the upper 60s (20° Celsius).
Mostly clear Friday night, with lows near 50° (10° Celsius).
Our Mother’s Day weekend weather is going to depend upon one thing: the timing of an approaching cold front. As with most cold fronts, a band of showers will accompany this one. While it’s impossible to try and nail down the exact timing so far in advance, this afternoon’s computer models suggest that it’s impact potentially could be Saturday evening / night.
IF this materializes, then we would get through the daytime hours this weekend dry, and with pleasant temperatures: Mid-to-upper 70s on Saturday (25° Celsius), and mid to upper 60s on Sunday (19° Celsius). Stay tuned -- this is a BIG weekend, and I’ll watch that front’s timing like a hawk, and update you daily through the week. In fact, if I get any solid computer model data in between the postings of this, my daily weather article, I’ll tweet an update to help you plan.