Afternoon Update

Good Afternoon!

Just looking at a little data on the lunch hour here at the straight job, and I don't see much reason to change the forecast from what I put out there for you early this morning.  Plenty of clouds in Michigan still at this hour, but you can see some clearing over Lake Michigan and back into Wisconsin...

And there's just a few showers in the western part of the state that are traveling more SSE than east at this point, so it looks better that the Michigan/Michigan State game should be a fairly dry one, if cool.  Take a look at this from the Detroit NEXRAD radar.  The blue around the radar is ground clutter, but some of these returns could be rain that is not even making it to the ground.

We're in a cool pocket inland at this hour.  52 in Ann Arbor, 50 in Battle Creek, and 49 in Jackson.

Have a great afternoon!

Quick Saturday Look!

Good Morning!

Just a quick update today, and more to come, as this is the big game day in Michigan...Michigan VS. Michigan State!

SUMMARY:  Rain has tapered way off from last night and yesterday, with just a couple of light showers in the area, and that's what we will see today, with plenty of cloudy skies.  It will once again be a damp and chilly affair for football, this time of the college variety, but this time the showers will have more spacing between them and should not be very heavy.  Any showers that do drop some steady rain shouldn't drop it in heavy fashion.  It's all part of the low that is SLOWLY working his way out of here to the northeast to bother our friends in Canada!

GAME DAY FORECAST:  At the Big House, Michigan Stadium, on the campus of the University Of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the kickoff is set for 3:30 PM against the Spartans of Michigan State University.  Kickoff forecast is as follows:

Sky:  Cloudy, some clearing starts late in the game
Temperature: 45
Winds: SW 6-11 MPH
Precipitation:  40% chance of scattered showers, these should start tapering off as the game progresses

LOCAL FORECAST:  Here's the forecast for Jackson and Vicinity

Today - cloudy skies, 45% chance of scattered showers high 49, winds SW 5-10 MPH.

Tonight - skies clearing, becoming chilly, lows roll back to 36, winds turning more westerly 5-10 MPH.

Sunday - mainly sunny, warmer, high 59, winds WSW 5-10 MPH.

Sunday night - clear skies, not as cold as Saturday night, low near 41, winds SW 3-8 MPH.

That's tonight and tomorrow's outlook for you, I will have a complete forecast later.  Have a great day!  Blessings.

Wet Weekend Start!

Good Morning!

Not a lot of time today, so we will just do an abbreviated discussion and forecast.

TEMPERATURES:  We are underneath a low pressure system and in the base of an upper-air trough.  This is pulling cool Canadian air in from the northwest, and along with that, enough moisture is in the air for us to have plenty of clouds and some shower activity.  The good news is that once we get through the weekend, high pressure with warmer flow from the Desert Southwest starts to build in, clearing our skies and warming us up into the 60's, with a couple of 70's not at all out of the question.

RAIN:  Uh-huh.  We'll have that in the mix for the next few days, before this low lifts northeast and out of here, to hassle our friends in Canada.  The low will just sit and spin while it tracks slowly northeast, bringing fairly steady rain showers to us here.  The next five days the National Weather Service expects us to pick up anywhere from a half inch to an inch of rain.  Here in this area, I'm thinking we should see right around three-quarters of an inch, and we'll see most of that through the weekend.  Unfortunately Friday Night Football will be a chilly and damp affair for most locales, so keep an umbrella handy and bring a jacket.

SEVERE WEATHER:  Nothing in the mix for the next three days except for the eastern seaboard, where there is a "slight" risk of some severe weather in North Carolina, Virginia, and DC, among other places.  That should be a wind event as opposed to anything tornadic.

Right now we have plenty of gray skies and showers in the area, tracking basically due north as the low works it's way through the area.

Here's the forecast for Jackson and vicinity:

Today, cloudy and cool with numerous showers, high only 52, winds SSW 5-10 MPH.

Tonight, continued overcast skies, showers persist with a bit more spacing between them, lows roll back to 40.  Winds SW 5-8 MPH.

Saturday, cloudy skies start a slow clearing process, showers taper off also, high 53, winds SW 5-10 MPH.

Tomorrow night, clearing skies, chilly, lows near 34, winds SW 5-10 MPH.

That forecast should hold you until Saturday.  I'll have a full forecast and discussion tonight or tomorrow for you.  Have a great day!

Mild, Then Wet and Chilly...

Good Morning!

A mix of clouds and sunshine and some mild temperatures for mid-autumn greet us this morning in the South Central Michigan Weather Zone today!  We'll keep the mild stuff around as we push some very spotty shower activity out of here, then we enjoy some sunshine.  Soak it up now, because the rest of the week features some shower and thunderstorm activity.  Let's take a deeper dive and see what we have on tap for the next several days!

TEMPERATURES:  The mercury climbs to some unseasonably mild levels today in advance of a cold front.  Warmer southerly flow pushed mild air in here overnight that caused temperatures to hold fairly steady or even rise.  Pretty much all of the reporting stations are checking in at 50 or better, with some temperatures already working on 60 degrees at 9AM.  We get a cold front coming through this evening and tonight that kicks off some precipitation (more on that below) and then we cool back into the 50's for the next few days with gray, rainy conditions.  Here's a look at readings this hour:

RAIN:  Enjoy the sunshine and mild conditions because you don't see them anymore after today for awhile! We stay dry through the day, but clouds thicken and we get a couple of showers and possibly a thunderstorm in here around time for the evening drive home from work.  The main body of the rain comes in closer to 11 PM, with falling temperatures and a better coverage of showers and some thunderstorms.  Take a peek at the National Weather Service outlook:

5 Day Precipitation Forecast

As you can see, you'll definitely need the umbrella here as once the rain starts, as it sticks with us pretty much into the start of the weekend, with some breaks here and there.  Friday Night Football will be a chilly and damp affair this week in the lion's share of the stadiums in the blog area.  I don't really know how much sunshine we get during those breaks, though, just yet, as the low pressure system that will cause all this fuss looks to be a pretty substantial one.

SEVERE WEATHER:  Taking a look from the perch today, we shouldn't have any severe weather issues to worry about, even with all of the rain and storm activity coming.  Take a look at the forecast from the Storm Prediction Center and you see that the severe threat is well to the south of us here in Michigan...

Storm Prediction Center Day 1 Outlook

A 15-20 degree temperature swing usually brings some good storms with it, so don't be surprised to see a couple of strong, but not severe storms with gusty winds later today and into the nighttime hours.

Some scattered clouds around the area at this hour, but lots of sunshine to pass around :)

Here's the forecast for Jackson and surrounding areas including Spring Arbor and Rives Junction:

Today, mainly sunny skies with some passing clouds that increase during the afternoon, a couple of isolated showers should develop after 5 PM, high 70, winds S 7-14 MPH.

Tonight, becoming overcast, scattered to numerous showers and a few thunderstorms, turning cooler, lows drop back to 51, winds SSE 10-15 MPH.

Thursday, cloudy skies, rainy, high 54, winds SE 6-12 MPH.

Thursday night, continued cloudy and wet, but rain does start to taper off as the evening progresses, low 41, winds SE 5-10 MPH.

Friday, continued cloudy, still a couple of showers around, high only 53.

Saturday, mainly cloudy, but some partial clearing during the day, still a couple of lingering hit or miss showers, high 55.

Sunday, becoming sunny and seasonably pleasant, high 59.

Monday, mostly sunny skies with maybe a couple of passing clouds, warmer, high 63.

Tuesday, periods of clouds and sunshine, warmer still, chance of a few afternoon scattered showers, high 65.

There's a look at your forecast for the next six days, I do hope that you have a great Wednesday!  Blessings.

Warning Up, The Rain Comes Later...

Good Afternoon!

We saw a chilly start the morning here in South Central Michigan, but that will change as plenty of sunshine will warm us up into the 60's.  Enjoy it, because we head back down into the cooler temperatures and pick up some rain starting this evening and into tomorrow, with a more substantial rain event on tap for Thursday. Let's pop the hood and have a look...

TEMPERATURES:  We started off chilly this Tuesday with readings in the 30's and frost on the cars, we have warmed up to the mid 40's throughout the area.  We'll make it up to 60 before the day is out, with mainly sunny skies.  Tonight, we hold temperatures fairly steady, and then warm up to almost 70 tomorrow, before a strong cold front comes in tomorrow after and evening, bringing much cooler temperatures with it, sending the mercury back down toward 50 for the day time high.  Here's the temperatures around the area at this hour:

RAIN:  We'll see some shower activity then some showers and storms in the area the next couple of days.  late tonight we'll have some widely scattered showers moving through sometime after 8PM, then we clear off and get warmer for Wednesday.  The second and main wave of showers and storms come through starting during the evening commute home tomorrow, with the main body of rain working into the area by about 10PM.  That rain will stay with us into Thursday.  Let's take a look at the National Weather Service rainfall forecast:

5 Day Precipitation Forecast

As you can see, they are suggesting about an inch and-a-quarter to an inch and-a-half for rainfall, and this looks pretty good.  That cold front coming through tomorrow night and into Thursday looks like it will be fairly strong and have some speed with it, so we may see some heavy downpours of rain at times.

SEVERE WEATHER:  Not much to worry about in this part of the world, we just have a general risk for thunderstorms the next three days, and even with the forecast strength of the low pressure system and the cold front he's dragging with him, the Storm Prediction Center doesn't expect any severe weather.  The primary focus for severe weather is Arkansas and Missouri for tomorrow.

Sunny in Jackson right now here's the forecast.

For the rest of today, mostly sunny with maybe some passing clouds, high 60, winds S 5-10 MPH.

Tonight, partly to mostly cloudy skies, some widely scattered showers possible, lows hold fairly steady around 50.  Winds S 6-12 MPH.

Wednesday, mainly sunny skies, clouds increase as the day progresses, warmer, high 68, winds SSW 10-15 MPH.

Wednesday night, cloudy skies, showers and thunderstorms develop, then it becomes cooler.  Lows roll back to 54, winds turn SW 6-12 MPH.

I'll have the six day outlook for you later.  Have a wonderful day!  Blessings.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS

Livingston, Lenawee, Washtenaw counties until 5:15 PM.  Move indoors until storms pass thru!