DETROIT – It’s been yet another very, very tough stretch for those without air conditioning, as temperatures near 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) combined with humidity well over fifty percent in most areas made it feel like it was well into the 90s today (35 to 37 degrees Celsius).
In fact, at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township reported a heat index of 102 degrees. When it’s that hot, 39 degrees Celsius sounds so much better.
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A stray shower of thunderstorm is possible this evening before 9:00 p.m., but most of us won’t see a drop. But all of us will have a warm and oppressively muggy night ahead, with lows in the low 70s (22 degrees Celsius).
Remember that it’ll take all night to get to that low temp, it’ll be warmer when we go to bed. Adding insult to injury for those without air conditioning is that a south wind at only 3 to 6 mph means that there won’t be a breeze blowing in the windows to offer any help.
Wednesday will be another day just like Tuesday, with mostly sunny skies becoming partly cloudy. Although an isolated pop-up thunderstorm is possible mid-to-late afternoon, our feeling right now is that the better chance is Wednesday evening and beyond.
It will also be our last extremely hot and humid day for a while, with highs again near 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius), and the humidity making it feel like it’s in the mid to upper 90s (35 to 37 degrees Celsius). Southwest wind at 10 to 15 mph.
Wednesday’s sunrise is at 7:03 a.m., and Wednesday’s sunset is at 8:00 p.m.
As mentioned above, showers and thunderstorms are likely Wednesday night as a cold front approaches. Very muggy lows in the upper 60s to near 70 degrees (20 to 21 degrees Celsius).
The cold front crosses the area sometime Thursday morning, with a few showers possible. But the bigger deal will be the rapidly falling humidity behind the front. Relief is on the way. Highs in the mid 70s (25 degrees Celsius).
Mostly cloudy Thursday night, with lows near 60 degrees (15 degrees Celsius).
Increasing sunshine from north to south on Friday, with highs in the mid 70s (24 degrees Celsius).
Partly cloudy Friday night, with lows in the mid to upper 50s (13 to 14 degrees Celsius).
Weekend forecast
Saturday looks splendid right now, with partly cloudy skies and highs in the mid 70s (24 degrees Celsius).
Rain chances return Saturday night, with lows near 60 degrees (16 degrees Celsius).
We have a chance of showers and thunderstorms on Sunday as some of the moisture from Gordon, now approaching the Gulf Coast, heads this way. Highs in the low to mid 70s (22 to 23 degrees Celsius).
Tropical Storm Gordon
As of mid-afternoon, Tropical Storm Gordon was about 130 miles southeast of Mobile, Alabama, and heading northwest at 15 mph. The storm will hit the coast either as a strong tropical storm or a minimal hurricane, but water will be the bigger impact -- both from storm surge and from heavy rainfall.
One thing that not many people are talking about is Gordon’s forward speed --15 mph is pretty quick for a tropical system, and that actually helped in two ways. First, the faster speed meant that Gordon spent less time over the warm Gulf of Mexico waters -- that was less time for strengthening.
Also, the faster speed means that areas hit by the storm will have less time of torrential rain. Yes, there will be severe flooding, but all we need to do is remind you of what happened with Hurricane Harvey last year, which stalled over Houston and gave them DAYS of heavy rain.
Gordon will drop about one-fifth the amount of rain that Harvey did, due to its progressive speed. One other point of importance: The storm will continue into the Midwest, which has already received a ton of rain, so severe flooding is a real possibility there.
