Clear skies, dry air, and light wind will once again contribute toward another night of outstanding radiational cooling, and the result is temperatures that once again will approach or drop below freezing. In fact, since tonight’s wind will be even lighter than Sunday night’s, we have a somewhat better chance of seeing freezing temperatures.
Lows should drop close to freezing (0 degrees Celsius) in the heart of our Urban Heat Island (near Detroit), and into the 20s (-2 degrees Celsius) in suburban locations. Accordingly, the National Weather Service has issued another Freeze Warning for all of southeast Michigan. Keep in mind that hardy spring plants, such as tulips, daffidils, and pansies, should be fine. If you’ve already planted some tender annuals in pots, I suggest moving the pots into your garage tonight. If you’ve already planted some tender plants, such as tomatoes, in your garden, you’ll need to cover them. Here’s one idea, from Local 4 viewer Margaret King, who is protecting her young tomato plants:
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If you have some tender annuals, or fruit bushes that are already flowering and they’re not too big (such as the new blueberry bushes I planted last fall), you can cover them with cloth or burlap by putting in some stakes, and resting the cover over the stakes without letting it touch the foliage. What happens here is that the heat that’s radiating upward from the ground hits the cover, and is reflected back downward toward the plants, thus minimizing the freeze potential.
And by the way, I’ve mentioned in the past that the warming of our climate is lengthening our growing season, and this is one of the negative consequences. The unusual early season warmth we’ve seen in recent years causes an earlier than normal blossoming of our fruit trees and bushes, which then makes them susceptible to a later spring freeze. It was just a few years ago, in 2012, that nine straight days of record warmth in March brought out the blossoms, and then a killing freeze destroyed those blossoms…and 90% of our state’s tart cherry crop. So remember this the next time you rejoice those extra early tastes of spring.
Mostly sunny skies will start our Tuesday, but clouds will increase during the afternoon. Highs near 60 degrees (15-16 degrees Celsius), with a light east wind developing.
Tuesday’s sunrise is at 6:18 a.m., and Tuesday’s sunset is at 8:42 p.m.
Mostly cloudy Tuesday night, with lows in the low 40s (5 degrees Celsius).
Mostly cloudy on Wednesday, with highs in the low 60s (17 degrees Celsius).
Mostly cloudy Wednesday night, with lows in the mid 40s (8 degrees Celsius).
Partly cloudy on Thursday and Friday, with highs in the low 60s (17 degrees Celsius).
Race for the Cure and Mother’s Day weekend:
Unfortunately, some of the computer models this afternoon bring in a chance of showers for part of the weekend. There is way too much difference between the models to try and get specific but, right now, the better chance is for some showers on Saturday (possible not until after the Race for the Cure), with the rain moving out just in time for a cooler and breezy Mother’s Day.
Out of the office:
I will be out the rest of the week recovering from surgery I’ll have Tuesday to repair a badly herniated disc in my lower back. I’ve been in agony the past three weeks, and am actually looking forward to the surgery that will free me from the pain that’s been shooting down my leg. Yesterday, somebody mentioned that she didn’t notice it on the air…but I think I was able to fool her (and many of you) because you never saw me walking (actually, limping) from the news desk to the green screen. Fortunately, I’ll benefit from improvements in medical science in recent years, as my surgeon will be using a minimally invasive procedure that will actually have me walking out of the hospital the same day possibly feeling better than I walked in. I will be restricted for a week, but then hope to be back to work early next week. Tomorrow if I’m up to it, I’ll try to update those of you who follow me on Twitter (@PGLocal4). In fact, my goal is to sneak my cell phone into the operating room and do a selfie with the operating room staff before we get started, and then have somebody take the phone out to my wife in the waiting room. We’ll see if I can pull that off!