Metro Detroit weather: Forecast shows handful of beautiful days ahead

Rain shortage continues into next week

DETROIT – The weather looks nice and feels even nicer. But our lack of rain is a growing problem.

Seasonable days

Temperatures are teetering right around normal for the middle of May. Starting Friday, normal highs will be 70 degrees.

We have more than 14 hours of daylight to enjoy a handful of beautiful days ahead. Friday through the weekend will feature more sun than clouds, dry conditions and afternoon highs in the low 70s.

For this time of year, it’s hard to write a better script for outdoor activities, and it looks like we won’t see many noticeable changes through much of next week, as well.

Rain shortage

Last week was a damp and dreary one, and we did pick up just under 1 inch of rain between May 3 and this past Sunday.

The problem is that wasn’t enough to bust our drought. This week’s drought monitor kept nearly everyone in a moderate drought, except for parts of the South Zone. That’s where rainfall was a bit more plentiful, improving conditions to abnormally dry.

We have been tracking a system that was scheduled to arrive Monday, but now that looks like it might miss most of us. South Zone locations will be most likely to see it, but the system might slide even farther south.

Officially, we’re down more than 4 inches of precipitation since the start of the year. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but the last five months have been the ninth-driest on record for Michigan. So enjoy the sunshine, and we’ll keep hunting for some rain.

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About the Author:

Ben loves his job at Local 4 because broadcast meteorology challenges him to crack Mother Nature’s code, then find new and creative ways to tell that story to people.