Dry and hot streak of weather continues for Metro Detroit with an Air Quality Alert — Here’s what to expect

4Warn Weather – Good Wednesday Morning!

We’re starting this midweek off on another mild note for everyone as you’re heading out the door, and we’ve got another dry and warm day on the way for everyone working into this afternoon.

The dry weather will stick around through Wednesday and into the end of the week and into the beginning of the weekend as well. We’re in what we call a “blocking pattern” right now for our forecast. We’ve been in this situation a few weeks ago, we were just on the wet side of the forecast, now we are on the dry side of the forecast thanks to high pressure close by the region. This will continue with our southerly flow which will keep the warm air in place through the end of the week.

Air Quality Alert Wednesday

An Air Quality Alert has been extended through Wednesday for the majority of Southeastern Michigan including Metro Detroit through the day on Wednesday. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has issued the Air Quality Alert for elevated levels of Ozone and pollutants are expected to be in the unhealthy range for sensitive groups. It is recommended that active children and adults, and people with respiratory diseases such as asthma limit their prolonged outdoor exertion.

With high pressure firmly in control of the forecast, temperatures are continuing to climb working into the end of the week. High temperatures today will climb into the upper 80s, then back into the upper 80s to around 90° on Thursday. Most everyone will go above 90° for Friday and into the first part of the weekend on Saturday. We will bring a little more cloud cover into the forecast for the start of the weekend, but everyone remains dry.

Ending May on a Significant Dry Note

We will be ending the Month of May on a very dry note, and according to the National Weather Service, we will end the Month of May in the top 5 driest months on record for Detroit. Through yesterday, May 30th, we’ve seen only 0.92″ of rain at Detroit-Wayne County Metropolitan Airport. That is well over 2.5″ of rain below average for where we should be by this time in May, and when we look back at last year, we were actually above average in the rainfall department. As of right now, we are not in any type of drought scenario, but we will keep a close eye on that with the next round of drought monitors coming out on Thursday, June 1st.

Cooler Changes Next Week

Sunshine continues for Sunday, high temperatures a few degrees cooler as we’re into the upper 80s once again, before some changes arrive looking ahead into next week. We will keep a mixture of sunshine and clouds into the forecast for both next Monday and Tuesday. A cold front will work through the region on Monday. So, while we’re in the 80s on Monday, we will drop back to more seasonable temperatures into the upper 70s by the time we get to Tuesday, but still no rain in the forecast. We will continue to monitor this as there are some models that are being a little more progressive with the forecast chances for rain heading into early next week, but as of right now they are the outliers compared to everyone else, so we will keep the forecast dry.

Enjoy the sunshine and warm temperatures over the next few days!