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Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Detroit/Pontiac, MI
Issued by NWS Detroit/Pontiac, MI
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119 FXUS63 KDTX 161658 AFDDTX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac MI 1258 PM EDT Tue Jul 16 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... * A slow moving cold front keeps scattered showers and non-severe thunderstorms in the forecast today mainly for areas north of I 69. A few afternoon showers also possible Wednesday afternoon as a cooler airmass settles in. * High pressure brings cooler and less humid weather into the region for the late week period. && .AVIATION... Weak cold front will slowly sink south through southeast through this evening. Limited instability and moisture (dry mid levels) will limit shower and any thunderstorm coverage. Best forcing/moisture convergence looks to be across northern TAF sites this afternoon, and have included showers, but low confidence with thunderstorms developing. It remains possible for some shower/isolated thunderstorm activity to reach southern tafs by early this evening as well, but confidence not high enough to include in tafs. Southwest winds briefly gusting in the 15-20 knot range early this afternoon become lighter and shift to the northwest this evening. Light northwest winds tonight into tomorrow will usher in drier air in the low levels, but still expecting a SCT-BKN VFR cu up during the day, with isolated showers also popping up. For DTW/D21 Convection...Very low (<10 percent) chance for a pop up thunderstorm late this afternoon into early evening. DTW THRESHOLD PROBABILITIES... * Low for ceilings aob 5000 ft this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon. * Very low for a thunderstorm 20-3z. && .PREV DISCUSSION... Issued at 403 AM EDT Tue Jul 16 2024 DISCUSSION... A secondary line of thunderstorm activity is currently settling east southeastward across Northern Lower Michigan along a line from Manistee to Alpena. This activity is anchored within a deep axis of 850-650mb thetae that is immediately ahead of an organizing synoptic cold front. Plan view perspective of moisture fields suggest little southward push of this thetae content this morning. Agreement amongst CAM guidance with regional mosaic radar trends of slow storm top movement suggests the activity will largely remain north of Southeast Michigan early this morning. A convective overturning of the air mass and subsidence in the wake of this mornings MCS will contribute to strong static stability in the 3.0 to 8.0 kft agl layer for areas south of I 69 through this afternoon. System relative wind progs do support a broad and deep cyclonic circulation/low pressure reflection tracking across far southern Lower Michigan between 18-00Z this afternoon in response to 1000-500mb geopotential height falls. Warm advection redeveloping ahead of this weak low will limit the active subsidence and at least try to erode lower tropospheric CIN across the northern cwa including the Tri Cities early this afternoon. MLCAPEs of up to 1500 J/kg will be available provided that updrafts will be able to bypass some residual stability in the 4.0 to 5.0 kft agl level. To that potential, consensus of CAMs suggest smaller updraft thunderstorm activity develops north of M 46 in vicinity of Saginaw Bay after 19Z this afternoon. Given the projected instability and 0-6km of 35-40 knots, an isolated severe thunderstorm will be possible along the cold front mainly across the northern Thumb. The breadth of the low circulation is expected to be great enough to shunt much of the rich surface based instability recovery to the south of Lower Michigan this afternoon. Southeast Michigan is designated as General Thunderstorm in the SPC day 1 Outlook. North flow and nocturnal cooling will help a cooler air mass to push across all of the area tonight. The cold advection will jumpstart a period of more comfortable weather that will continue at least through the first half of the upcoming weekend. Will first need to contend with the heart of the upper level trough and reservoir of potential vorticity pushing into the area from the northwest Wednesday afternoon. Much cooler midlevel temperatures and some steepening of lapse rates will support shower activity and perhaps a rumble of thunder during peak heating timeframe Wednesday afternoon. Surface dewpoints remain in the lower 60s for another day on Wednesday before a second night of northerly cold air advection knocks the dewpoints into the 50s. Highlight for the end of the week forecast is that daytime heat indices are expected to top out mainly in the 70s with night time lows dipping into the lower to middle 50s. The night time lows will be some 10 to as much as 15 degrees below normal for the time of year. MARINE... An organized thunderstorm complex continues to work across the area over the next few hours before exiting into Ontario by mid-morning. Pressure perturbations induced by this well-developed system may produce a brief window of gusty winds even after precipitation has ended this morning, and may necessitate a short-fused Small Craft Advisory depending on observations. Meanwhile, a cold front has drifted southeastward into northern lower Michigan and will serve as a focus for a final round of shower and thunderstorm development during peak heating this afternoon and evening. Once the front clears to our south tonight, cooler northwest flow prevails. An upper low trails behind the surface front, gaining influence for the mid-week period and maintaining shower chances for Wednesday. Canadian high pressure then fills in for the end of the week, ushering in a quieter pattern into the weekend. && .DTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...None. Lake Huron...None. Lake St Clair...None. Michigan waters of Lake Erie...None. && $$ AVIATION.....SF DISCUSSION...CB MARINE.......MV You can obtain your latest National Weather Service forecasts online at www.weather.gov/detroit.