DETROIT – As expected, it was another cold day here in Motown, with afternoon temperatures not even making it to 30 degrees (-1 degree Celsius). But in case you are wondering, that’s nowhere near the record coldest high temperature for this date, which was 19 degrees (-7 degrees Celsius) in 1923.
Skies will clear Monday (March 28) night, and this, combined with slackening wind and a cold, dry airmass overhead, means that it’ll be an amazing night for radiational cooling. An exceptionally efficient cooling process that will allow temperatures to fall into the teens (-11 to -8 degrees Celsius) by dawn. North-northwest winds will diminish to 2 to 5 mph.
This evening’s sunset is at 7:55 p.m., and Tuesday morning’s sunrise is at 7:21 a.m.
Tuesday
Tuesday looks to be mostly sunny, with only some high clouds drifting through. Highs will warm to near 40 degrees (4 to 5 degrees Celsius), but that’s still well below our average high of 51 degrees (10.5 degrees Celsius). East-southeast winds will blow at 5 to 10 mph.
Clouds thicken Tuesday night, and those clouds will start leaking by late evening. While there may be a bit of snow or sleet at the onset, I think most of this will fall as freezing rain. As I’ve explained many times in the past, ice forecasts are very sensitive to changes in the thermodynamic environment, so I don’t want to get too specific just yet. Still, I also do want to leave you with some helpful information. So, I’ll share that based upon all of the high-resolution computer model data I’ve seen this afternoon. The best chance for an amount of ice that causes problems is northwest of a line from Manchester to Ann Arbor to Plymouth to Southfield to Sterling Heights to New Baltimore to Marine City.
South and east of that line, temperatures will be first to rise above freezing, limiting the ice accretion to less problematic amounts.
Freezing rain will transition to regular rain showers Wednesday morning, with the thumb being the last to change over since the warmer air is moving up from the south and will get there last. With a bit of luck, most of us may remain dry for the rest of the afternoon, and, with a peek or two of sunshine possible, temperatures reaching the low-60s (16 to 17 degrees Celsius) sure will feel nice.
Wednesday
More rain showers will cross the area Wednesday night, with temperatures when we wake up Thursday morning probably still in the low-to-mid 50s (10 to 12 degrees Celsius).
Thursday
Showers Thursday morning will accompany a cold front crossing the area, with most of the showers out of the area by afternoon. Temperatures will fall into the mid-to-upper-40s (8 to 9 degrees Celsius) during the afternoon, so it’ll be colder when you come home from work than when you leave in the morning, and it’ll become noticeably windy as well.
A snow shower is possible Thursday night, with lows in the low-30s (-1 to 1 degree Celsius).
Friday
Mostly cloudy skies Friday morning become partly cloudy during the afternoon, but it’ll still be breezy. Highs are in the low-to-mid-40s (5 to 7 degrees Celsius).
Weekend forecast
At this point, it appears that we’ll have a mix of sun and clouds this weekend, with highs on both days near 50 degrees (10 degrees Celsius).
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