200
FXUS63 KDTX 200810
AFDDTX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac MI
410 AM EDT Thu Jun 20 2024

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Hot and humid conditions will exist again Thursday, particularly
across areas along and south of the M-59 corridor where a Heat
Advisory remains in effect. To the north, a weak cold frontal
boundary will briefly bring slightly cooler and less humid
conditions.

- The heat and humidity builds back into the entire region Friday
and Saturday.

- Chances of thunderstorms continue each day of the week, some of
which may be strong to severe with locally heavy downpours and
isolated damaging wind gusts.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

As expected, the anomalous ridge parked over the Mid-Atlantic and
occupying most of eastern CONUS has broadened longitudinally over
the past 24 hours. This is evidenced by 20.00Z RAOB H5 geopotential
heights of 599 dam at KPIT (WFO Pittsburgh), KOKX (WFO Upton/NYC),
and KLWX (WFO Sterling). Although none of the coarser 00Z models
resolved a 600 dam center, it`s certainly possible that such
magnitude existed between the three observation sites prior to the
westward migration of the ridge centroid into Appalachia.

Initial GOES and ceilometer data affirm healthy coverage of
nocturnal cloud cover which should, once again, hamper nighttime
cooling rates. Made very minor upward revisions to MinTs this
morning, outside the lakeshores. As discussed throughout the past
several days, a low-level anticyclonic gyre builds over western Lake
Huron this morning. This eventually leads to the development of a
1030 mb surface high which then drives a backdoor cold front into
The Thumb area and points further southwest. The northeast flow
draws down slightly cooler Canadian air and will be partially
augmented by sub-60F water temperatures over much of Lake Huron.
Main question with this boundary remains the extent of inland
penetration and the resultant cooling effect for post-frontal
locations. Opted to go slightly more bullish with the frontal
progression in the outgoing forecast by bringing the thermal
gradient closer to the M-59 corridor. Prior evening update to the
Heat Advisory will stand with the more marginal counties being
Livingston, Oakland, and Macomb. Best opportunity to approach 100F
heat indices for those northern three counties should be along the
extreme southern extent of the boundaries where the advection of
cooler air comes up short (or is more muted). Today will be the
fourth consecutive day of heat indices in the upper 90s to near 100F
for the remaining locations within the Heat Advisory as dewpoints
linger in the lower 70s.

PoP forecast continues to be a major challenge with numerous periods
of convection potential. Made first-period changes to account for
ongoing line of sub-severe storms between I-94 and I-96 while
another cluster tracks toward/into the Tri-Cities. Outside of the
FGEN forcing along the inbound frontal slope, additional surrounding
convection will be tied to what has become a rather familiar high-
CAPE/low-shear quasi-uncapped environment. Further contributions to
ascent offered by the reconfiguration of the ridge and a southward
push of height falls across the UP and northern Lower MI creates a
more favorable corridor for CVA during the afternoon hours with
passing shortwave perturbations aloft. Conditions and coverage are
less certain with any outflow boundary interactions and differential
heating boundaries. Main threat with any strong to severe storms
will be short-lived damaging gusts, especially with well-loaded core
releases in the form of wet microbursts.

The system drifts into The Southeast by Saturday and could interact
with another ridge over The Southwest. The deterministic NAM, GFS,
and ECMWF remain in decent agreement with a zonal upper level
pattern which moderates height changes. Meanwhile, another warm
advection/frontal surge lifts back into Lower Michigan marked by H9
temps in the mid 20C range (potentially higher). Expect further
refinements to highs Saturday, dependent on the northern edge of the
realized thermal gradient. Regardless, most areas should see highs
back into the lower 90s with increasing humidity. A cold front
driven by a progressive shortwave swinging through the Upper Midwest
provides some relief Sunday with showers and storms. This precedes
somewhat more seasonable conditions and dry weather Monday before
the heat (sans humidity) returns Tuesday.

&&

.MARINE...

Some breakup in the weather pattern occurs today as high pressure
builds across Ontario which forces a cold front south through Lake
Huron. This will cause winds to turn northerly but gusts remain
largely below 20 knots. Warm temperatures remain across region which
adds stability over the waters helping keep wave heights minimized
as well. A stronger cold front looks to be on track for the second
half of the weekend however, and wind speeds then could reach or
exceed 25 knots with waves building to around 4 feet. Small craft
advisories may be needed.

&&

.HYDROLOGY...

A moist and unstable airmass will remain in place through the end of
the week. Isolated to scattered thunderstorm development is expected
across portions of SE MI today. The most intense thunderstorms will
have the potential to produce highly localized rainfall amounts of 1-
2 inches in a 30-60 min period. Thunderstorm training (repeated
thunderstorms) can also provide the chance see highly localized
totals of 1-2+ inches. Uncertainty in specifics of location and
exact timing for any flooding precludes the issuance of an flood
watches. Additional storms with highly localized flooding potential
will again be possible on Thursday during the afternoon and evening.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION...
Issued at 1150 PM EDT Wed Jun 19 2024

AVIATION...

A moist and weakly unstable nocturnal environment will continue to
support isolated convective development throughout the night. Any
development locally will tend to focus north and west of earlier
activity, affording FNT/MBS with at least a low end possibility for
thunder overnight. A weak frontal boundary remains forecast to ease
southward into the region overnight and Thursday. A generally light
wind field will favor a northeasterly trajectory with this frontal
passage. Retention of an adequately unstable environment will again
present potential for diurnal convective development targeting the
late day period Thursday. Similar to recent days, overall coverage
and placement of possible development remains quite ill-defined at
this stage.

For DTW/D21 Convection...The overall environment will again be
favorable for some degree of thunderstorm development Thursday
afternoon and evening, but with usual uncertainty at this stage on
timing and coverage.

DTW THRESHOLD PROBABILITIES...

* Low in thunderstorms impacting the airspace Thursday afternoon and
  evening.


&&

.DTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MI...Heat Advisory until 10 PM EDT this evening for MIZ068>070-075-076-
     082-083.

Lake Huron...None.
Lake St Clair...None.
Michigan waters of Lake Erie...None.
&&

$$

DISCUSSION...KGK
MARINE.......DRK
HYDROLOGY....AM/KGK
AVIATION.....MR


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