


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Detroit/Pontiac, MI
Issued by NWS Detroit/Pontiac, MI
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566 FXUS63 KDTX 301025 AFDDTX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac MI 625 AM EDT Sat Aug 30 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Seasonably cool today, although a gradual warming trend gets underway until mid-week. - Dry conditions expected through Tuesday, then rain and thunderstorm chances arrive Wednesday. && .AVIATION... Patchy shallow radiational fog has largely not affected the terminals. High pressure will remain centered over Lower Michigan today into Sunday, allowing light and variable winds to persist. Limited low level moisture will just support few to scattered VFR based diurnal clouds this afternoon. For DTW/D21 Convection...No thunderstorms during the period. THRESHOLD PROBABILITIES... * None && .PREV DISCUSSION... Issued at 342 AM EDT Sat Aug 30 2025 DISCUSSION... Gradual geopotential height rises are underway early this morning as a seasonally strong PV anomaly slowly exits into The Northeast. This gives way to a broadening region of 1023 mb surface high pressure, which eventually encompasses most of the western and central Great Lakes. After a calm morning start, winds remain similarly weak through the daylight hours given the unimpressive surface pressure gradient. Only other noticeable change in sensible conditions will be the moderating temperatures as 850 mb temperatures warm by approximately 3C. No precipitation concerns amidst increasing mid- level subsidence and column drying, as evidenced by PWATs dropping below 0.75 inches. Similar conditions expected Sunday and Labor Day as thermodynamic profiles moderate further, to near climatological normals. Meanwhile, an upper level ridge spills southeast from the northern Canadian Prairies into Ontario while an embedded shortwave trough transits the back edge of the departing upper low, dislodging and closing-off over Appalachia Sunday night. This quasi-Rex Block over the broader region keeps the warmest 850 mb temperatures over northern Ontario and Hudson Bay (upper teens Celsius) until the northern stream jet quickly shears the ridge out during Labor Day. Expect a steady uptick in daily highs, eventually into the upper 70s early next week while rain-free conditions persist. The synoptic pattern becomes disentangled Monday night into Tuesday as a northern stream 550 dam 500 mb low drops into the Upper Midwest, phasing with a portion of the southern branch. At the surface, resilient high pressure takes until Tuesday night or Wednesday to break down allowing gradient flow to organize out of the south. A wave takes shape over the Lower Mississippi Valley before it lifts into the Ohio Valley, ushering in an increasingly humid airmass. The combination of converging dynamics aloft, an impinging cold front from the northwest, and growing potential for destabilization culminates in the first precipitation chances of the forecast period on Wednesday. Most medium-range solutions produce a swath of rainfall followed by perhaps the coldest airmass of the summer. Operational ECMWF has aligned with the GFS by bringing the 0C 850 mb isotherm to Lower Michigan within the next cold-core low. Ensemble systems suggest potential exists for late-week high temperatures below 60F across parts of Southeast Michigan. MARINE... A high pressure system will hold across the Great Lakes this weekend into early next week. This will sustain dry weather and more tranquil conditions. The next chance for more active weather will enter during the mid to late week time frame as a low pressure/cold front nears the Great Lakes. && .DTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...None. Lake Huron...None. Lake St Clair...None. Michigan waters of Lake Erie...None. && $$ AVIATION.....SC DISCUSSION...KGK MARINE.......AM You can obtain your latest National Weather Service forecasts online at www.weather.gov/detroit.