DETROIT – Heat moves from uncomfortable to potentially dangerous over the next couple days. Just slight increases in temperatures and humidity will make it feel near 100 at times.
Excessive Heat
An excessive heat watch is in effect from Wednesday morning through Thursday evening. Take extra precautions to protect yourself and others. Staying hydrated is key, especially if you work outdoors. Even if your car is air conditioned, it will rapidly heat up with the engine off. So do not leave kids or pets inside cars.
If you do not have air conditioning, visit a library, shopping mall or other public building during the hottest parts of the day to give your body some time to recover. Heat illnesses are often cumulative, meaning they build up over time. So the more cooldown time you have, the more you can reset that clock.
Temperatures will reach the mid 90s Wednesday and Thursday. Higher humidity will put heat index readings near 100 both afternoons. Check the 4ZONE page for the “feels like” reading for your neighborhood. Friday will be our last 90 degree day in this stretch, which will stop at 9. It’s possible we may stop short of 90 on Friday if thunderstorms arrive earlier in the day.
Storm shots slim
The storms in our North Zone this evening will be the biggest coverage we’ll see until Friday. Despite the heat and humidity, chances are slim that a storm pops Wednesday or Thursday. When a cold front arrives to end the work week, that’s when our best chance of storms will show up.
Expect them in the late afternoon but more likely early evening. Some will linger into Saturday. And many of us need every drop we can get. Sunday most of us should remain dry.
Short-lived relief
Temperatures dip just a bit over the weekend. We’ll hit the upper 80s Saturday, then the mid 80s on Sunday. Humidity will be decreasing through Saturday, but the big difference will be Sunday, when some dew points return to the 50s. That’s pretty dry air for mid July.
Temperatures return to the 90s Tuesday as we start another stretch of heat. Keep in mind the record for 90 degreed days in June is 17. And we’ll be making a run at that number later this month.
Track the radar: