750
fxus63 kdtx 120845
afddtx
area forecast discussion
national weather service detroit/pontiac mi
445 am edt sun apr 12 2026
.key messages...
- showers and a rumble of thunder this morning with rain chances
continuing across the north into the day.
- southwest wind gusting in the 30-40 mph range develops this
afternoon helping to lift temperatures into the 70s.
- warm and wet week ahead with highs reaching into the 70s each day
and daily storm chances.
- there is a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms monday night and
tuesday morning.
- locally heavy rainfall potential also increases during the mid
week period.
&&
.aviation...
an elevated warm front now lifting across the area will sustain
scattered showers during the early to mid morning hours. the showers
will be a little more widespread across the kmbs terminal where the
ascent will be a little more persistent. residual low level dry air
will support prevailing vfr ceilings within the showers. this is
currently supported be regional observations. low level warm air
will then surge northward during the day. as the warm air expands
across the terminals, south-southwest winds will rapidly increase.
model soundings and probabilistic guidance suggests gusts around or
over 30 knots at times during peak heating in the mid to late
afternoon. limited nocturnal cooling within the persistent southerly
winds will sustain some degree of gustiness well into the night.
dtw/d21 convection... limited instability suggests only showers with
no thunderstorms across the airspace this morning. additional
showers are forecast overnight tonight. again limited instability
will maintain a very low risk of thunderstorms across the airspace.
.dtw threshold probabilities...
* low in ceilings aob 5000 feet this morning. high overnight
tonight.
* low in thunderstorms late tonight.
&&
.prev discussion...
issued at 314 am edt sun apr 12 2026
discussion...
active stretch of weather starting today which will persist through
much of the coming week. a strong upper low over the west coast will
slowly drift eastward over the next few days, reaching the plains on
wednesday. meanwhile, a surface low develops over the central plains
and moves very little while its attendant warm front wavers about
through the great lakes and the cold front sags southward toward
texas. this setup will draw deep moisture from the gulf up through
the midwest/great lakes with persistent 40+ knot low level jet, with
shortwaves accelerating that to near 60 knots at times. the westward
placement of the surface low will tend to keep the better surface
based storms up through the plains and into the midwest, but the
upper level low ejecting several shortwaves through the great lakes
will act to draw better moisture and instability into the region at
times leading to several rounds of showers and thunderstorms through
thursday. besides storms this week, the other main story for the
week will be the much warmer airmass offering daily high temps into
the 70s, lows in the 50s, with dewpoints into the 50s and 60s much of
the week.
today will offer the first round of showers and storms as a
shortwave tracking across the up on the nose of a 50 knot jet sends
a cluster of storms along the isentropic arm extending eastward from
the low over the plains. this will mostly pass north of se mi but
during the morning the forcing will reach farther south and east
offering some showers and elevated storms locally before the warm
sector starts pushing into southern mi capping off additional
activity this afternoon. winds in the warm sector later this
afternoon will get gusty as the low level jet starts expanding into
the area as peak heating still has max mixed layer depths. model
soundings suggest we could mix down 30 knots or more for a couple
hours before sundown. cold front sweeps through the area later
tonight. the low will peal off to the north with the ribbon of
vorticity shearing to the northeast as well, so a weaken band of
showers will pass through tonight, possibly ending by 12z monday
morning. highest rainfall totals will be up through mid mi where qpf
could reach 1.2 to 1.4 inches. amounts taper off drastically
southward, with less than a tenth of an inch expected around the
detroit metro.
could see a lull in precip on monday as low amplitude mid level
ridge slides over with the main baroclinic zone well to the north
but the next short wave is already targeting the u.p. again tonight.
best chances for precip will again occur to the north, but expanding
area of elevated instability, a mid level vort max, and strong low
level jet could lead showers and storms expanding farther south
across much or all of the area. spc has us in a marginal risk of
severe weather for monday.
window for strong to severe surface based storms remains to be on
tuesday as a low ripples along the front laid across mid mi and the
main upper trough pushes into the mid ms valley. this will lead to a
high shear, good instability environment, surface/mid/and upper level
support, good moisture with pwats over 1.25 inches and surface
dewpoints into the 60s (some models advertising hitting 70). plenty
of time before this arrives to get more into the weeds with storm
potential and timing but spc already had most of se mi in the day4
15% area today. the mid/upper level troughs linger just to the west
wed and thurs as well offering additional storm chances.
marine...
winds organize from the south-southeast this morning as a return
flow configuration arises from departing high pressure. gradual
gradient constriction causes winds to increase, exceeding 20 knots
for the northern half of lake huron by sunrise. expect a more active
week of weather, beginning this morning, as showers move in ahead of
a decaying line of thunderstorms. locally higher winds and waves are
possible as convection works across the huron basin, but lower
column stability should limit overall gustiness. potential still
exists for brief gusts to gales late sunday into monday as a 65+
knot low-level jet crosses the central great lakes. the main area of
concern will be saginaw bay given funneling southwest flow and
slightly higher potential for mixing. winds respond accordingly,
therefore an initial round of small craft advisories are in effect,
with more possible for the adjacent waterways on monday. several
additional rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expected
throughout the week due to a series of troughs, low pressure
systems, and fronts.
&&
.dtx watches/warnings/advisories...
mi...none.
lake huron...small craft advisory from 10 pm this evening to 10 am edt monday
for lhz421-422.
small craft advisory from 10 am this morning to 10 am edt monday
for lhz441.
small craft advisory from 10 am this morning to 10 pm edt this
evening for lhz442.
lake st clair...none.
michigan waters of lake erie...none.
&&
$$
aviation.....sc
discussion...drk
marine.......kgk
you can obtain your latest national weather service forecasts online
at www.weather.gov/detroit.