DETROIT – Tuesday's 4ZONE temperature forecast was right on the money -- temperatures Wednesday afternoon ranged from the mid-50s (13 degrees Celsius for our Canadian friends) in our North Zone to the low 70s (22 degrees Celsius) in our South Zone.
Rain showers moved in ahead of schedule for some of us, with a few solid downpours and some November lightning thrown in for effect. This first batch of rain will pass through the area Wednesday afternoon, with solid rain north of M-59 and more scattered south of there. Then, we’ll have a break before another batch comes through overnight.
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At this point, it appears as if the last of the rain will move past those of you on the east side around 7 a.m., so, with a bit of luck that it doesn’t slow down, we may get through the bulk of the morning rush hour dry. Lows will be in the low 50s (10-11 degrees Celsius). There will be variable wind at 4 to 8 mph. Some late-night fog is possible for those of you in our North and West Zones.
Early-morning clouds and fog will break up, with partly cloudy skies dominating the middle part of the day. Clouds will start increasing from north to south mid-to-late afternoon as an upper level trough of low pressure moves downstate, and a few scattered showers are possible in the late afternoon or early evening period -- earliest in the North Zone and latest in the South Zone. Highs will be in the upper 50s (15 degrees Celsius). Northwest wind will blow at 7 to 13 mph.
Thursday’s sunrise is at 8:09 a.m., and Thursday’s sunset is at 6:24 p.m. It will become mostly clear Thursday night, with lows in the low 40s (6 degrees Celsius).
Mostly sunny on Friday, with highs in the mid-50s (13 degrees Celsius). It will be mostly clear Friday night, with lows in the upper 30s to near 40 degrees (3-5 degrees Celsius).
Expect lots of Maize Sun and Blue Sky at the Big House Saturday, as well as over all of southeast Michigan. Highs will reach near 60 degrees (15-16 degrees Celsius).
It will be mostly clear Saturday night, with lows in the low 40s (6 degrees Celsius).
Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour before going to bed Saturday night as Daylight Saving Time ends and we return to standard time. Enjoy that extra hour of sleep.
Sunday will be mostly sunny, with highs in the upper 50s (15 degrees Celsius). It will be mostly clear Sunday night, with lows in the low 40s (5 degrees Celsius).
It will be mostly sunny on Monday, with highs in the low 60s (16 degrees Celsius). Monday night will be mostly clear, with lows in the mid-40s (7 degrees Celsius).
Election Day forecast
Election Day is a bit tricky.
A weak cold front now looks as if it’ll cross our area, but the models disagree with the timing, as well as with the amount of moisture with it. For example, the overnight run of the ECMWF model had the front extending from Green Bay to Chicago at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Wednesday afternoon’s run of the same model (hot off the presses), has the same front already east of us at that same time.
Meanwhile, Wednesday afternoon’s GFS model looks like the overnight ECMWF, while the GEM model looks bizarre. I’m tossing that one out. I cannot possibly try to get specific with the timing of any showers Tuesday. However, it does appear that any showers will be of the scattered and light variety -- if we get any showers, that is. Highs look reasonably comfortable in the upper 50s (15 degrees Celsius).
I’ve heard conflicting theories over the years as to which political party gets helped or hurt by less than ideal weather on Election Day. The bottom line is that it shouldn't matter. Voting is not a right, it’s a privilege. If you have to dodge a few raindrops on your way to the polls, so be it. It’s not as if this will be a traffic snarling 6-inch snowstorm. Exercise your privilege and make sure you vote on Tuesday. As a good friend of mine, Laura Shaw, used to say, "No show, no gripe." If you don’t vote, we don’t want to hear you complaining the next four years.
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