Most of my work is done. The NWS in Gaylord has put together a great graphic for me to work with. As I said in the preview on Wednesday, this was a weekend of being chilly and damp. It looks like the computer guidance that the NWS uses has caught up to reality, as is now calling for around 60 for highs on Saturday and Sunday. So let’s look at the details…
Friday afternoon
Low pressure moves out of northwest Canada and moves into the western Great Lakes. The jet stream buckles and allows the low to park itself over the area. The result? cool, rainy weather. It looks like that the day will start dry, and then the rain will move into the region for the afternoon. This will allow us to warm up a bit, before cooling back down. The high temperatures are expected to be in the mid 60s, maybe the upper 60s if we are lucky. Being outside will be okay to start, but then damp and chilly.
Saturday
Saturday we will wake up with drizzle and rain showers, especially in northwest lower Michigan. With the cold air pooled over us, it will remain chilly. It won’t be a great day to be outside. One thing that people will probably notice, if they are watching the radar that day will be the bands of rain showers that will form. We will be in a lake effect rain shower pattern over eastern upper and northwest lower Michigan by the afternoon. High temperatures will range from the upper 50s to the lower 60s.
Sunday
If I had the space to post the upper level winds, you would see an area of low pressure over the region, besides the surface low that you see to the left. The forecast is again for chilly, damp weather, so being outside will be marginal at best.
I don’t often talk about marine issues, however, I know that some boaters will be looking to get out on the Great Lakes this weekend, to fish. Fishing Lake Michigan can be done in cool, rainy weather, however, expect there to be small craft advisories issued; and with the area of the low pressure, the relatively warm waters of Whitefish Bay and northern Lakes Michigan and Huron, and cold air over the lakes, we are expecting waterspouts . In fact, NWS Gaylord has it outlined in their Hazardous Weather Outlook for Friday through Wednesday:
WATERSPOUTS ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY…ON WHITEFISH BAY AND THE MICHIGAN NEARSHORE WATERS OF NORTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN AND NORTHERN LAKE HURON
So beware, if you are planning on doing any boating. If there are small craft advisories out for northern Lake Michigan, then there will be rip current statements out as well, not that anyone will want to swim in the Great Lakes this weekend.
Outlook for 4-7 September 2009
Labor Day weekend
The one promising part of this post is that we are looking at above normal temperatures for the Labor Day weekend. The only downside is that we are running close to the above normal precipitation area on the map, too. Most of northern lower and eastern upper Michigan will be normal for preipitation, with portions of northwest lower above normal. So we could get a bit of a warm up for the last big summer bash of the year. Normal high temperatures are running from the upper 60s at the Soo to the mid 70s near Traverse City. Gaylord and Alpena have normal highs in the lower 70s.
The Recap
We are expecting chilly, damp conditions this weekend, but Labor Day weekend is hinting at somewhat better weather. Let’s hope.
