


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Detroit/Pontiac, MI
Issued by NWS Detroit/Pontiac, MI
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007 FXUS63 KDTX 111849 AFDDTX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac MI 249 PM EDT Mon Aug 11 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Hot and muggy conditions continue through Tuesday with highs in the low 90s and heating indices in the mid-90s. - Potential for showers and non-severe thunderstorms from mid afternoon into the evening hours today. - Wider spread showers and thunderstorms again possible Tuesday, with the potential for heavy rainfall. - High pressure brings near normal temperatures and less humid conditions to close out the work week. && .DISCUSSION... Highly broken line of scattered showers has begun to develop early this afternoon marking the lead edge of a richer theta-e plume being advected into lower MI. With this line crossing during peak heating and MLCAPE`s nearing 1000J/kg, expectation is for continuing blossoming coverage as satellite and radar indicate multiple weak convergence axises within this plume. While scattered thunderstorms are likely, forecast soundings depict fairly skinny CAPE profiles and weaker column wind fields greatly hampering more robust/organized convection. Main hazard with any thunderstorm that manages to form will be locally heavy rainfall given PW values between 1.5-1.75" and slower storm motion. Lingering showers taper off late this evening with the loss of diurnal heating. The region remains under deep layer southwest flow through the night however with CAM guidance keying in on a nocturnal low level jet development late tonight. This jet brings a renewed push of moisture transport and subsequent elevated instability into SE MI supporting scattered elevated shower/storm redevelopment after midnight into early morning. As for rain chances/coverage Tuesday, lack of defined forcing leads to a more nebulous forecast, particularly first half of the day. Forecast soundings still advertise an uncapped environment atop surface dewpoints in the lower 70s allowing SBCAPE values to reach or exceed 1000 J/kg by roughly noon. Given this setup, it would seem probable for scattered convective development to occur by late morning-early afternoon. As for location given the free release, anywhere in SE MI would have a shot. That said, with the parent trough sitting over Lake Superior, Saginaw Valley-Thumb would be slightly more favored for wider spread convection. Coverage expected to increase through the day both due to diurnal destabilization and increasing mid-upper height falls as the trough slides towards the Soo. Severe potential with any storm Tuesday is low as winds hold aob 25kts through the column, though an isolated water-loaded downburst can`t be ruled out. This weaker wind field does however support slow storm motion, which in combination with warm cloud depths >10kft and PWATs between 1.5-2", results in localized heavy rain-flood threat. Shower and storm chances persist through the night as the attendant cold front sags through southern lower MI. This front eventually clears south by mid Wednesday morning tapering off any lingering activity. Thermal troughing follows for Thursday and Friday as 850mb temps hold closer to 13-14C resulting in a brief return to normal mid- August highs in the lower 80s. Additionally, dewpoints fall to around 60F making it a more comfortable feel. Broad mid-level high pressure centered over the Southeast then draws the hotter, humid airmass over the Plains back into the central Great Lakes this weekend. Heat indexes return to the mid 90s as highs return the lower 90s and dewpoints approach 70F again. && .MARINE... Showers and thunderstorms have developed in the presence of a surface trough that is draped across lower Michigan. These storms are moving east at ~20 knots, and will track across the marine zones this afternoon-early evening before waning with sunset. These storms will be slow-moving and disorganized, but could produce isolated gusts over 30 knots. Southwest flow ensures persistent warm and unstable conditions with several waves of showers/storms possible Tuesday afternoon-evening ahead of a cold front that tracks through Tuesday night. The environment initially favors pulse/multicellular storm mode that becomes more linear in nature as the cold front approaches in the evening. Gusts over 34 knots and heavy rainfall are the primary threats. Precipitation chances linger through Wednesday morning before high pressure and upper level troughing move overhead to establish a quieter and cooler pattern for the back half of the week. && .HYDROLOGY... Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms are possible this afternoon through Tuesday ahead of a cold front that tracks through the area Tuesday night. Moisture rich conditions are characterized by PWAT values up to 2 inches and dewpoints in the low 70s. Scattered thunderstorm activity will be capable of producing heavy rainfall with rates over an inch per hour this afternoon and evening. This will be followed by multiple potential waves of thunderstorms Tuesday through Wednesday morning, in which slow- moving and/or training thunderstorms will be possible. Flash flooding will be possible in urban and low-lying areas along with rises in areas rivers. && .PREV DISCUSSION... Issued at 141 PM EDT Mon Aug 11 2025 AVIATION... Relatively deep moisture between 850-500mb will wash back into Southeast Michigan this afternoon as a mid-upper level ridge structure builds from northern Ohio to Quebec. Difficulty exists in forecasting precipitation/showers/thunder because of some lingering dry air in the 2.5 to 4.5 kft agl layer and fractured/multiple convergence axes. There is enough vertical continuity in thetae this afternoon to include a TEMPO for -TSRA at all taf sites. Most favorable timing is between 19-24Z. Cloud development at taf time has been relatively shallow, limited to diurnal heating. For DTW/D21 Convection... The potential exists for non severe thunderstorms between 21-24Z. Very little confidence in any lingering activity between 00-09z. THRESHOLD PROBABILITIES... * Moderate for thundestorms this afternoon. && .DTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...None. Lake Huron...None. Lake St Clair...None. Michigan waters of Lake Erie...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...KDK MARINE.......MV HYDROLOGY....MR AVIATION.....CB You can obtain your latest National Weather Service forecasts online at www.weather.gov/detroit.