DETROIT – As expected, we had a few light showers this morning, and now the sun has made a glorious return to finish our Thursday (June 2).
Skies will remain mostly clear overnight, with lows in the low-to-mid-50s (11 to 12 degrees Celsius) in the heart of the area and possibly dropping into the mid-to-upper-40s (8 to 9 degrees Celsius) in our coldest rural suburbs. Wind tonight will be light, generally from the west at 2 to 5 mph and back a bit to the southwest late at night.
This evening’s sunset is at 9:04 p.m., and Friday morning’s sunrise is at 5:59 a.m.
Friday
Skies should be mostly sunny overall on Friday, and you probably won’t even know that a weak cold front will cross the area mid-to-late afternoon except perhaps for a short period of partly cloudy skies near the front. I do not expect any showers to develop, as the atmosphere will be quite dry. Highs on our Comerica Bank Free Prix Day should reach the mid-to-upper-70s (25 to 26 degrees Celsius), and it’ll be breezy with southwest winds increasing to 10 to 20 mph with higher gusts then shifting to the west after the front passes by. Don’t forget the sunscreen if you’re headed to Belle Isle!
Mostly clear Friday night, with lows between 45 and 50 degrees (7 to 10 degrees Celsius).
Grand Prix weekend forecast
Saturday looks spectacular, with sunny skies all morning, then clouds creeping in from the west and increasing during the afternoon. It remains dry, however, Saturday afternoon into Saturday evening, with highs in the upper-60s to near 70 degrees (20 to 21 degrees Celsius). Same caveat as above about sunscreen, but even more important on Saturday. The sun’s rays are very intense this time of year and remember that the temperature has nothing to do with your ability to burn. Exposed skin will burn just as quickly right now at 70 degrees (21 degrees Celsius) as it will at 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius).
The Sunday forecast continues to be most intriguing. A warm front will approach from the south, so we’ll start the day with mostly cloudy skies. The big question is how far north of that front a band of steady rain will develop, and this is not the same for all warm fronts. Most computer models this afternoon suggest that this band will develop well north of the front, probably north of M-59 and possibly north of I-69. That leaves a much smaller chance for a shower or thunderstorm farther south, such as on Belle Isle. Rain chances there are not zero but are significantly lower than farther north. In fact, if that warm front makes it northward into our area (best chance is our South Zone), those of us south of the front will become partly cloudy and much warmer than my forecast high temperature in the mid-70s (24 to 25 degrees Celsius). Of course, it’ll be cooler north, where there will be more cloud cover and a higher chance of rain.
The Grand Prix crews will most certainly have a close eye on the weather, but you have no idea how dramatically the weather affects their cars’ performance and the lengths they go to stay ahead of the weather. I did a fascinating story a few years ago about this, which includes an exclusive interview with Helio Castroneves. Check it out.
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