Forecast: Record highs, then chilly Halloween night in Metro Detroit

The forecast to end October calls for two days of historic heat, followed by a soggy, chilly night of trick-or-treating on Halloween.

Temperatures in Metro Detroit are expected to reach record highs Tuesday and Wednesday, before dipping Thursday evening amid steady rain and wind, National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Manion said.

“We have forecasted highs (Tuesday afternoon) in the upper 70s and in some spots it’ll touch 80,” Manion said. “For (Tuesday), that compares to a record 77 degrees that was set in 1999; and tomorrow, the high is 76, which was also set in 1999, and we’ll likely break that, also.”

The average high this time of year is around 56, according to NWS data.

A cold front is expected to move in Thursday evening, Manion said.

“We’ll have above-normal temperatures in the 70s Thursday, but later on, the temperatures will drop, and it’ll get rainy and breezy,” Manion said. “By Friday, things will be back to normal, with temperatures in the low 50s for the entire Metro Detroit area.”

Manion said two factors are driving the unseasonably warm weather Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We have a jet stream that’s doing a decent job of keeping the arctic air north of us when the stream is north, which is is now,” he said. “Also, we have a high-pressure system off to the east, and when it’s positioned that way, a lot of the air that typically sits in the desert southwest and the central southern plains get pushed here to settle in the Great Lakes region.”

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