DETROIT – Days with temperatures in the 90s will stack up through next week, bringing us our longest streak in more than 30 years.
But will we break the record?
Mercury rising
Temperatures will be consistently hot through the end of the next work week. Expect highs in the low-to-mid 90s.
Humidity will rise to muggy levels Friday, but dry out over Saturday and Sunday. That will allow overnight temperatures to fall into the 60s, giving those without air conditioning some brief comfort, especially outside the Metro Zone.
But it will also keep heat index readings from rising above the air temperatures. Humidity starts to rise Monday and we’ll be back to muggy conditions from Tuesday onward. That will put heat index readings in the upper 90s next week, possibly touching 100 at times.
The Detroit record for 90 degree days in a row is 11, set in 1953. If the forecast holds, we should fall just short of that mark with highs returning to the upper 80s by next weekend.
Stealthy showers
Most of us can bank on dry conditions until Wednesday. But there are some slim chances at stray showers or thunder lying ahead.
The first of those is Friday afternoon and evening. With the higher humidity and weak disturbance falling south through the area, we may see a few stray storms.
Beyond that, Wednesday will bring scattered thunderstorms. That will be a very welcome drink of water after nearly a week-and-a-half without in some locations. Add in the searing heat and strong July sun, and we’ll likely still be begging for rain beyond midweek.
This week’s drought monitor shows no change in Lower Michigan, but some parts of the western UP have been added to the abnormally dry, or pre-drought, category. Parts of Wayne, Monroe and Lenawee county have been in that classification since last week.