Metro Detroit forecast: More rain, more flooding, then more heat

A few thousand metro Detroiters were recovering from power outages Wednesday morning, after thundershowers knocked out electricity and flooded freeways the day before, with forecasters and police warning more storms are expected through the afternoon bringing the possibility of more flooding .

Michigan State Police warned commuters that parts of Interstate 94 were closed, mostly near Gratiot, and noted that "more heavy rain" is "in store today," so "if you see barricaded areas of roadway, please don’t go around the barricades. Leave early and be nice out there!"

By late afternoon, however, dry weather — and heat — is expected, with temperatures in the 80s and gradually warming each day for the rest of the week, with the mercury reaching close to 90 on Sunday.

More: Metro Detroit at risk of flooding over next 2 days due to heavy rain: What to know

"All the rain chances will be coming through the morning hours and exiting in the early afternoon," Alex Manion, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake Township, said early Wednesday. "Then, it should be dry for the rest of the day."

Tuesday, the National Weather service issued a flood advisory until 11 p.m. in northeast Wayne County, and part of Macomb and Oakland counties, with localized roadway flooding throughout metro Detroit.

About 4,000 DTE Energy customers were without power early Wednesday, down from more than 10,000, mostly in Macomb County, the night before. The utility said it is committed to restoring "your power as quickly as possible" and to maintaining the gird.

Rainfall counts showed about 2.5 inches coming down in the past 24 hours at Metro Airport in Romulus.

It's been a hot summer

Climate scientists and others weather watchers have been especially concerned about unseasonable weather this year, with unbearable heat, heavy rains and even an intense hurricane that made landfall in Texas, with the remnants sweeping across the country, passing through Michigan.

Global temperatures reached the highest levels in recorded history last Sunday, according to preliminary data from a climate monitor in Europe , which news outlets reported is raising he concern that climate change is pushing the planet to dangerous highs.

In southeast Michigan, average temperatures hit a near-record high from Jan. 1 to June 30, hitting 4.4 degrees more than what is normal, nearly 54 degrees, Manion said. It was, he added, the second-highest average. The highest for that period, the weather service said, was in 2012.

Moreover, the Copernicus Climate Change Service showed the average temperature for the planet last Sunday was 62.76 degrees, which broke a record set just last year, highlighting worries about human-caused global warming.

Last month, more than two dozen groups petitioned the federal government to include extreme heat — one of the leading weather-related killers in America — as a qualifying condition for federal disaster relief.

The petition, which was submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, came as forecasters in southeast Michigan were predicting a daily pattern of extremely hot temperatures and then violent thundershowers.

Local and state authorities nationwide have said the costs to fight heat-related problems are becoming overwhelming, noted that extreme heat events are impacting many communities and "millions of workers."

'Heat islands' make it worse

Detroit, and other cities, are especially vulnerable to high temperatures and are even referred to as "heat islands," because all the buildings and concrete in urban areas tend to hold in heat and are even hotter than the surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, if you are tired of hearing about the world getting hotter, the Old Farmer's Almanac , which uses scientifically dubious weather forecasting methods although some Michiganders follow them religiously, has predicted a cooler than usual fall.

The publication, which claims an 80% accuracy rate, said the fall will bring with it some below-average temperatures in Michigan's Lower Peninsula and near-average temps in the tip of the mitt and in the state's Upper Peninsula.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Metro Detroit forecast: More rain, more flooding, then more heat