DETROIT – The big storm we’ve been talking about all week long is knocking on the door. Here’s a rundown of the significant weather changes we will see through Saturday.
Rain
Rain will develop Friday evening, and heavy downpours are possible. In fact, not only are thunderstorms possible, but there’s a small chance that some strong to marginally severe wind gusts are possible.
One thing we also have to monitor is rainfall amounts, as it now appears that areas roughly southeast of a line from Port Huron to Ferndale to Ann Arbor could see between one and two inches of rain.
NOTE: Check the storm drains on your street and clear them if necessary, as the ground is mostly frozen right now and won’t be able to soak up any of this water like it can in the summer.
Most of the rain will fall during the overnight hours, with just some scattered showers as the cold front comes through mid- to late Saturday morning.
Wind
As mentioned above, there could be some stronger gusts with the overnight rain, but the widespread strong wind will occur Saturday.
It’ll be breezy when you wake up, but gusts over 50 mph become likely with any showers accompanying the cold front, as well as behind the front. The strongest gusts, which could approach 60 mph, will be across the northern half of the Thumb.
Accordingly, the National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning for Sanilac, Tuscola and Huron counties on Saturday, and a wind advisory for the rest of us. Check your Christmas decorations, and perhaps bring in the more fragile ones that may not survive the strong wind. Also, make sure that your devices are kept fully charged Saturday in case you lose power.
Temperatures
Temperatures will rise Friday evening and, in the middle of the night, we’ll be in the mid- to upper 50s (12 to 15 degrees Celsius). If you’re up early Saturday morning, it’ll be pretty pleasant out there. Get that jogging done early!
Once the cold front comes through, temperatures will immediately plummet, and we’ll be in the mid-30s (1 to 2 degrees Celsius) by late afternoon. Wind chills at that time will be in the 20s (-5 degrees Celsius).
The bottom line is that you’ll be talking about the weather Saturday. The changes coming are significant and, in some cases, could be damaging. Remember that you can track all of this on the free Local4Casters app, which is the nation’s best weather app, because we designed it ourselves here at Local 4. We didn’t just go and buy somebody else’s app like most stations. Best of all, if you have notifications turned on, the app sends you alerts whenever important weather approaches. Go to the app store and search “WDIV” -- you’ll see it right there.
Rest of forecast
Mostly sunny on Sunday, but still breezy. Highs in the mid-40s (6 to 7 degrees Celsius), but the breeze will make it feel cooler, of course.
We keep the sun Monday, then clouds increase Tuesday, with showers possible Wednesday and Thursday.
Temperatures will rise back into the 50s (14 to 15 degrees Celsius) by Wednesday and Thursday before crashing back down to normal Friday into next weekend. By the way, we may have some more nasty wind to deal with on Thursday -- stay tuned.
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