Metro Detroit weather forecast: The party's over

Get ready for a reality check!

You KNOW we’ve been living on borrowed time.  After all, it’s the middle of October!  Temps in the 70s and 80s the past two days, followed by a beautiful afternoon today with highs near 70° (21° Celsius for our Canadian friends) certainly gave reason for you to let your guard down.  But don’t:  typical October weather returns tomorrow, and I don’t see much temperature variation through the end of the month.

So, enjoy today while it lasts, because clouds will increase tonight, and rain will develop, as well…especially across the southern half of our area.  Lows won’t be all that bad, dropping to near 50° (10° Celsius), with a light north wind.  This evening’s sunset is at 6:44 p.m.  Thursday’s sunrise is at 7:52 a.m., and Thursday’s sunset is at 6:43 p.m.

Rain reigns on Thursday.  It won’t be the type of rain that causes massive flooding issues across the area but, rather, is just going to be a basic all-day rain.  Those of you to the north may just get periodic rain, while those farther south have a steady rain.  Make sure you have an umbrella at your disposal if you’ll be out and about.  Although temps will start the day on the mild side (compared to average low temps right now in the low 40s / 6° Celsius), they’ll only rise into the upper 50s (14° Celsius).   Factor in the rain and a north wind at 8 to 13 mph, and it’s going to feel pretty raw given the nice stretch of weather we’re coming out of. 

Important reminder:  As you have undoubtedly seen, leaf drop is occurring across our area.  If you have storm drains on your street, make sure those drains are clear of leaves (and other debris) so the rain can drain away.  Just this past Sunday, I drove through some pretty nasty road puddles caused by leaf-clogged street drains.  Also, at some point (if not Thursday, then another time in the next couple of weeks) you’ll be caught driving on wet leaves.  Remember that wet leaves are very, very slippery…it’s like driving on snow.  Allow some extra distance between you and the car in front of you, and be especially careful driving in your neighborhoods when kids are walking to or from school if there are wet leaves on the road.

Rain diminishes Thursday evening, with lows in the low 40s (6° Celsius) by early Friday morning.

Mostly cloudy on Friday, with highs in the mid 50s (12° Celsius).  

Becoming partly cloudy Friday night, with lows in the upper 30s (3-4° Celsius).

Partly cloudy on Saturday, with highs in the low to mid 50s (11° Celsius).  

Mostly clear Saturday night with some frost possible in our usually colder rural locations.  Lows in the mid 30s (2-3° Celsius).  

Partly cloudy and milder on Sunday, with highs near 60° (16° Celsius).     Note:  yesterday, I mentioned a possible upper level disturbance potentially impacting our Sunday weather.  Right now, it appears that we’ll remain dry, but I’ll continue to monitor and let you know if there are any changes.