DETROIT – You say that you're not satisfied. You say that you want more for your money.
Well OK, we'll warm things up, but it's going to be a gradual process and it won't happen tonight.
Instead, clearing skies, dry air, light wind, and an Arctic airmass overhead are perfect conditions for another night of radiational cooling (we've seen so many this winter) -- a very efficient mechanism for sharply falling temperatures. By dawn Friday, temperatures in the Urban Heat Island should be close to our official record low of -4°, set back in 1934. Those of you in the typically colder suburbs (and you know who you are) may very well get down to -10° or -12°. Fortunately, wind will become nearly calm, so wind chill shouldn't be an issue.
Mostly sunny on Friday, with some pop up cumulus clouds possible during the afternoon. Highs in the mid teens.
Mostly clear Friday night, and get ready for another very cold night. Lows in the Heat Island will be around or slightly below zero, while the colder spots could approach -6°.
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Mostly sunny and a little warmer on Saturday, with highs near 20°.
Increasing clouds with a chance of light snow developing sometime after midnight. Lows in the single numbers.
Light snow continues on Sunday. Right now, this is shaping up to be 1 to 3 inches of snow, with the highest amounts near the state line, and steadily diminishing amounts as you head north. Highs in the mid 20s (notice the trend in temperatures -- this is the point where you start getting excited).
Snow ends by late Sunday night, with lows in the mid teens.
Becoming mostly sunny on Monday, with highs near 30°. Did you hear me? 30°! Okay, you can't hear anything -- you're reading this. I get that. I'm just so excited that I can finally get my car windshield replaced (I have a big crack in it). The windshield replacement company has had to postpone their appointment to come out and replace it FOUR times because it was too cold. I've been afraid to get my car washed because of the big crack, so once that windshield is replaced, I'm washing my Focus. That's why I'm excited: I'm SO tired of driving around in a salt pile that looks like a car.
Increasing clouds Monday night, with lows near 20°.
Tuesday is still a very, very tricky storm to figure out. Once again, the computer models are changing this system radically from day to day. Yesterday it looked like all snow for us. Today it looks like any number of possibilities across southeast Michigan, with snow, ice, and rain all in the realm of possibility. But many of the models do seem to be trending toward a warmer solution -- except for the normally reliable ECMWF, which keeps us colder with all snow. That's why I'm still not confident. Highs Tuesday depend upon which model verifies, of course, but could reach the mid 30s. If the warmest of the models verifies, we could get much warmer than that. So stay with me on this…I'm putting a lot of time and energy into monitoring this storm, and I'll keep you updated.
IF any rain or ice develops on Tuesday, it'll change to snow at some point Tuesday night. If we stay mostly snow on Tuesday, then that snow will continue Tuesday night. Lows near 20.
Lingering snow showers should end Wednesday morning. Becoming partly cloudy and breezy. Highs near 30°.
Partly cloudy and colder Wednesday night, with lows near 10°.
Partly cloudy and windy on Thursday, with highs in the low to mid 20s.