DETROIT – Would another record low be easier to handle if you could see an 80 in the forecast? Well, you got it. There is definitely some spring warmth in the back end of this forecast. But we'll be (literally) freezing tonight.
Freeze Warnings Again
Freeze Warnings are in effect for all of southeast Michigan from midnight through 9 a.m. Tuesday morning. Temperatures will be in the 20s area wide, with the exception of some low 30s on the east side near the water. We should easily break the record of 32 from 1934. So cover up any plants that can’t handle these kinds of numbers and hopefully no one turned on their sprinklers. Wednesday morning won’t be quite as cold, but some of us outside the Metro Zone will still end up below 32.
The Long Slow Road To 80
It's all looking up from here, though. Despite our cold starts, afternoon highs will still hit the low-and-mid 60s for the first half of the week. Seventies take over by Thursday. And (gasp!) we may get back to 80 by the middle of next week. Now, that's more than a week away. And average highs will be at 70 by this Thursday. We've spent so long with unseasonable cold, you may be surprised what normal feels like this time of year.
Spring Storms
We've got tons of sunshine on the way for the first half of this week. But as temperatures rise, thunderstorms are possible by Thursday into Friday. Rain may be around this weekend at times, too, especially Sunday. But storm chances increase even more next week as the big 8-0 awaits.
By the way, Sunday's 0.37" of precipitation (some of which was snow), was the first measurable rain we had all month. Plus we finished April with about 25% less rain than normal. So a good drink of water isn't unwelcome. A quick check of the Drought Monitor shows parts of the West and North Zone are already abnormally dry. That data was published before the weekend rain, however.
Finally, the real May is on the way.