DETROIT – As promised, we end the work week with another quiet weather day, and we’ll even get some bonus sunshine out of the deal!
But first, we do have some patches of dense fog around, but not nearly as prevalent as what we saw Thursday morning.
Any clouds during the first half of the day will be high-level cirrus clouds, allowing plenty of sunshine through and making for a very pretty sky. Clouds should begin to thicken and lower as we head through the afternoon, but those clouds won’t leak, yet.
Highs in the upper 40s (9 to 10 degrees Celsius) with a light and variable wind are pretty easy to take if you’ll be out providing critical support to our local businesses by shopping local for your holiday gifts. Speaking of holidays, today is the first full day of Hanukkah -- Chag Urim Sameach if you’re celebrating!
Today’s sunrise is at 7:52 a.m., and today’s sunset is at 5:01 p.m.
Rain moves in tonight, with temperatures initially dropping into the upper 30s (3 to 4 degrees Celsius), and then holding steady right there for the remainder of the night. Northeast wind at 4 to 8 mph.
Saturday forecast
The computer models remain very consistent that Saturday will be a rainy day for us here in southeast Michigan, and don’t be surprised if you hear a rumble of thunder! How 2020 would it be to get a December thunderstorm? Regardless if we get any thunder, we’ll likely see between three-quarters to one-and-a-half inches of rain -- much needed rain since our soil is very dry.
Mostly snow is expected north and west of a Bay City to Grand Rapids line, where 4 to 6 inches of snow is possible (a Winter Storm Watch has been issued there). Travel to northern Michigan will be very dicey on Saturday -- be sure to check the free Local4Casters app’s live radar to see exactly where the rain changes to snow -- the app’s radar display is color coded just like we show you on TV, so you can delineate between rain and snow. Even if you aren’t traveling, the app’s radar will be fun to watch on Saturday.
Wind first thing Saturday will be light, but it should become noticeably breezy by the end of the afternoon.
Saturday’s highs will range from the low 50s (11 degrees Celsius) in our South Zone to mid 40s (7 degrees Celsius) north of I-69.
Rain diminishes to just scattered light showers Saturday evening, with a few snow showers possible later at night. Lows in the mid 30s (1 to 2 degrees Celsius).
Sunday forecast
Sunday will be mostly cloudy and mostly dry. A morning flurry or light snow shower is possible, but nothing to worry about. Steady temperatures in the mid 30s (1 to 2 degrees Celsius) combined with a breeze out there will definitely make it feel like a very different day than it was on Saturday!
Geminid Meteor Shower
IF the clouds clear out in time Sunday night, then we’ll be able to see the annual Geminid Meteor Shower! The peak is around 2 a.m., looking straight up, and this is one of the best meteor showers of the year, as we could see around fifty meteors per hour at some point. Naturally, you can try looking earlier -- you may see a few -- just face east at that time and look up. And almost no moon out there means that it’ll be a darker sky, which means we can see more meteors! Let’s pray for clear skies!
Outlook for next week
The long-range computer models suggest no big storms for us next week. A weak system will give us some cloud cover, and perhaps some light snow on Wednesday, but nothing significant at this point.
Highs should generally be in the low to mid 30s (1 degree Celsius), and lows in the mid 20s (-4 to -3 degrees Celsius). There is a preliminary indication of some milder weather heading back this way for the end of next week into next weekend -- we’ll see.