DETROIT – The severe threat overnight into Thursday morning looks more intense, and flooding might be a serious problem during the commute, as well.
Severe storms
It’s not the time of day we would expect to see severe weather, but we’ll be watching the overnight hours as a complex of strong, fast-moving storms barrels into the area from the west side of the state.
A flash flood watch has already been posted for the southern two-thirds of the area. One to three inches of rain is possible, coming down at an inch per hour in some spots.
Storms will start arriving around a.m. Thursday. With sunrise not until 6:22 a.m., this could be a serious problem for early commuters, who might have to deal with flooded roadways in the dark.
Damaging winds will be the primary severe threat, however. Gusts over 60 mph are possible. The severe risk has been raised from marginal to slight for primarily the West and South zones.
Some of the Metro Zone is included, too. The rest of the area is under a marginal risk.
The leading edge of thunderstorms won’t spend a lot of time over us, as they’ll race quickly to the southeast. But expect rain and some thunder behind that line through mid-morning.
Then, we’ll be dry for the remainder of the day.
Due to the timing of these storms, make sure you have a way to get warnings if you’re going to be in bed. It might be a good idea to check your storm drains this evening and make sure they’re clear. Also, if you have a sump pump with an alarm, make sure it’s working.
If you rely on an alarm clock without batteries, set a phone alarm in case you lose power.
Decent weekend
Weather will certainly be a lot quieter behind the front taking us into the weekend. Highs will reach only the upper 70s Friday and stay close to that mark through Sunday.
Saturday looks dry, but expect some Sunday showers.
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