Winter temps returning to Metro Detroit later this week

Michigan won’t see normal winter temperatures until this weekend following a mild Christmas Day, according to the National Weather Service.

Southeast Michigan saw an abnormal Christmas in terms of weather: no snow, some fog in the early morning, and temperatures reaching a high of 54 degrees Fahrenheit.

This wasn’t a record, though, as Detroit’s all-time high for Christmas Day is 64 degrees, which was set in 1982, according to the weather service.

The Christmas Day temperature Monday was similar to a high of 53 degrees recorded in 2021 and a high of 54 degrees recorded in 2019.

As the week progresses, meteorologists at the National Weather Service’s White Lake Township office predict cold temperatures to come as well as rain.

“Over the next couple of days will be similar (temperatures) minus some change with rain,” said Alex Manion, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Detroit office.

Tuesday is forecasted to be mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of precipitation and a high near 54 degrees. Wednesday also is expected to be mostly cloudy, but with a high near 45 degrees.

Manion characterized December’s temperatures as “very mild.”

Thursday and Friday will see highs in the 40s and drop to around 30 degrees at night, according to AccuWeather. Southeast Michigan will see temperatures in the upper 30s Saturday, Sunday and into the New Year.

“We’re going to return to normal temperatures … late this week and the projected high for New Year’s Day is 37 (degrees), so that’s pretty much right around normal right for this time of year,” Manion said. “There’s really no strong signal for any major accumulating snow events. We’re just too warm for any accumulating snow chances. All the precipitation that we have in our forecast is rain.”

Staff Writer Anne Snabes contributed.

mjohnson@detroitnews.com