Detroit, MI

Is it safe to start planting in Metro Detroit right now?

Published

2 years ago

April 29, 2024

Is it safe to start planting in Metro Detroit right now?

It’s … hot in Metro Detroit right now.

That’s a weird thing to say in April, but it’s true: High temperatures have been in the 70s and 80s, and they’ll stay that way this week.

With all this warmth, you may be switching to springtime gardening mode. But, is it safe to start planting outdoors in Southeast Michigan? Are we done with the cold temperatures for the season?

Our warm temperature outlook is promising (if you like the heat, that is), but it’s still fairly soon to start planting. Here’s what to know.

It’s all about soil temperature

When deciding when to plant outdoors in the spring, it’s important to consider the soil temperature in addition to the air temperature. Just because it’s warm outside doesn’t necessarily mean the soil is warm enough to plant.

The ideal soil temperature for planting most plants, especially vegetables, is between 65-75 degrees.

Planting in soil that is colder than 50 degrees could lead to germination problems with the plants, even if the air temperature is above freezing.

You can take the temperature of your soil yourself to see if the conditions are right.

When is the best time to plant in Southeast Michigan?

The time when it becomes safe to plant varies each year, since temperature trends aren’t exactly the same year-to-year.

With that in mind, our 4Warn Meteorologist Ashlee Baracy maintains that it’s safest to plant in the spring in mid- to late May.

Sure, our temps will reach the 70s and 80s during the day this week, but that may not last. And overnight low temperatures will drop into the 50s, and even the 40s at times.

In 2023, mid-April soil temperatures rose to around 70 degrees due to a stretch of days with 80-degree air temperatures. By the end of the month, though, soil temperatures were hovering in the 40s.

It’s best to plant when there’s at least some certainty that the high temperatures won’t suddenly drop below 50 or 40 degrees. It’s also ideal to avoid planting if frost remains a concern.

Are we done with frost this spring?

We may not have to worry about frost anymore this spring, but it’s still a possibility.

Frost is a thin layer of ice that forms on surfaces, and can “threaten sensitive vegetation and agriculture,” the National Weather Service says. Frost forms when air temperatures are at or below the freezing mark: 32 degrees.

According to Meteorologist Ashlee Baracy, our average “last freeze” of the spring season is on April 24.

The last day of frost in the spring of 2023 was April 26. The latest freeze that Metro Detroit has ever seen was on May 29, 1966.

That’s why our 4Warn Weather team insists that sensitive plants should wait to get planted until around Memorial Day.

Temperatures in Southeast Michigan have been trending above average this season, though. Across Michigan, temperatures are expected to remain above average in May. See the long range forecast for May here.

As of Monday, April 29, the lowest temperature in our 10-day forecast will be a 48-degree low on Tuesday, April 30.

See the 10-day forecast here.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit man accused of fatally shooting two men in Tennessee

Published

5 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

Detroit man accused of fatally shooting two men in Tennessee

A Detroit man suspected of fatally shooting two men on a Tennessee highway in November was arrested Monday in Michigan, authorities said.

Dashonn Moten, 28, of Detroit was indicted on 17 criminal counts, including two counts each of first-degree murder and felony murder, Knoxville, Tennessee, police said in a social media post.

Moten is accused of killing Troy Hutchison, 33, of Atlanta and Rodrell Jeter, 25, of Detroit during an incident on the morning of Nov. 16 on Interstate 640 in Knoxville.

Moten also faces one count of attempted murder related to a third victim, a 22-year-old Detroit man, who was critically injured in the shooting, authorities said.

Detectives believe the victims were traveling from Detroit to Atlanta in a light-color Ford Bronco with a Michigan license plate, according to a press release issued in November. At that time, police were unsure of a motive or the relationship between the suspect and the victims.

Two days after the shooting, the Bronco was found abandoned in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, police said.

Moten was identified as a suspect based on an investigation that included dozen of interviews, a review of cellphone records and anonymous tips, authorities said.

U.S. Marshals took him into custody Monday in the Detroit area, according to authorities. He is expected to be extradited to Knox County.

mreinhart@detroitnews.com

@max_detroitnews

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Detroit, MI

Detroit man arrested following manhunt for double murder in Tennessee

Published

17 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

Detroit man arrested following manhunt for double murder in Tennessee

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – A 28-year-old man from Detroit has been arrested for the murder of two people in Tennessee.

Troy Hutchinson and Rodrell Jeter were shot and killed Nov. 16, 2025, outside Nashville, Tennessee. A third man was hospitalized with critical injuries.

Police believe four men were traveling from Detroit to Atlanta in a Ford Bronco when the fourth man opened fire on the victims before leaving in the vehicle. The Bronco was found abandoned in Kentucky, just south of Cincinnati in Ohio.

Jeter and the man who was hospitalized were both from Detroit, while Hutchinson is from Atlanta.

A motive for the shooting remains unknown.

In late November, police identified the suspect as Dashonn Moten. He was indicted on 17 counts, including two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and two counts of felony murder.

After nearly two months, Moten was arrested Friday, Jan. 10, in Sterling Heights and is awaiting extradition to Tennessee for his arraignment.

If convicted, Moten faces possible execution.

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Detroit, MI

Thompson: The new year brings a promising future for Detroit students

Published

1 day ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Thompson: The new year brings a promising future for Detroit students

Detroit Public Schools Community District often gets a bad rap due to declining enrollment issues or longstanding challenges that led to the historic takeover of the school system before voters returned it to an elected board.

And in many cases, that is the lens through which the school system’s performance is examined and viewed across the state. But there are hidden stories of progress within a school system that is still struggling to define itself and to give young Detroiters hope for a meaningful future.

I saw that first-hand last week at Denby High School, part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, on the city’s east side, where hundreds of young Black and Brown male students gathered in the basketball gym for the annual policing and prosperity forum.

The annual event initiated and led by tenacious Detroiter Sharlonda Buckman, the district’s assistant superintendent for family and community engagement, is one of the hidden jewels of the public school system and brings together male students from various high schools to discuss their interaction with law enforcement. On the panel were senior and junior police officers from the Detroit Police Department, as well as the district’s public safety chief, Labrit Jackson, all of whom took hard questions from the students about how to navigate the complexities of the criminal justice system.

Before the start of the forum, I met three students: 17-year-old Justin Montgomery, 17-year-old Exavier Ward and 16-year-old Wesley Lewis, all students of Denby.

The three of them live on the east side and are serious and determined students who believe they have an obligation to be worthy ambassadors of their communities.

“I just got a scholarship from Cleary University for track and field and cross country and I just signed the papers so I can be committed,” Ward told me. “I am excited for the new year and I’m ready to live my adult life.”

His parents are also joyful about his future because, “out of all of my siblings, I’m going to be the first one to go to college. I want to major in cybersecurity,” he says.

Montgomery is scouting Oakland University or Central Michigan University and is also interested in a trades school. He’s keeping his options open.

“I have been here for a while and I’m ready to get out of high school. The experience has been good for me,” he says.

For Lewis, graduating in 2027 will make him the first in his family to be committed to college. That alone keeps him upbeat for the new year as he prepares for the challenges and the pressures of being an 11th grade student.

“I’m really ready to go to college. I’m looking at Kentucky State University, Wayne State University and Michigan State University,” he says. “I probably would major in music in college because I currently play the piano. But sometimes I get nervous about college because I feel like it is going to be harder than high school.”

These impressive young men speak to the vitality of the school system and the need to continue to nurture and support them.

The forum on policing and prosperity reinforces that need.

“This forum is so important because we give the students an opportunity to have a voice and talk about the things that are important to them and how they interact with law enforcement,” says Marty Bulger, the district’s senior director of male mentoring.

“Even a more dynamic piece is the fact that because the city has seen a reduction in violent crime, we believe as we reach our young people, we will continue to see a decline. These young men are our future leaders.”

X (formerly Twitter): @BankoleDetNews

bankole@bankolethompson.com

Bankole Thompson’s columns appear on Mondays and Thursdays in The Detroit News.

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