Heat wave bakes Detroit, relief arrives midweek
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The heat wave across Metro Detroit continues Tuesday, but cooler temps and rain are expected mid-week.
Why it matters: Sweltering humidity affects your body's ability to naturally cool off through sweat, experts warn — and without AC, people are especially at risk when extreme heat drags on.
State of play: A heat advisory and extreme heat warning for Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties remains in place until 8pm Tuesday, per the National Weather Service.
- Tuesday's heat index is forecast to eclipse 100 degrees.
- The heat index — or "feels like" temperature — peaked at 103 degrees at Coleman A. Young International Airport on Sunday.
Zoom in: Three city rec centers have extended hours today, from 9am-8pm, to serve as cooling centers: Patton Recreation Center, 2301 Woodmere St.; Heilmann Recreation Center, 19601 Brock Ave.; and Northwest Activities Center, 18100 Meyers Road.
- All other city rec centers and library locations are available as cooling centers during normal business hours.
The intrigue: Detroit hasn't broken any records during this heat wave.
- Sunday's high of 94 was 4 degrees short of the 98-degree record in 1988.
Yes, but: Saginaw set a record Sunday at 95 degrees, breaking the 1966 mark of 94.
Zoom out: Over 170 million Americans were under a heat advisory or warning as of midday Monday amid an early summer heat wave.
- Nearly 370 daily high temperature records were broken between June 15 and Saturday, per NOAA.
- Boulder, Colorado, and nearby Fort Collins broke 131-year and 130-year daily records, respectively, with highs of 98 degrees in both cities.
The extreme conditions are being driven by a heat dome, with high pressure trapping warm air over vast areas.
The latest: The heat in Metro Detroit is expected to break Tuesday evening and into Wednesday as rainy weather rolls in.
- Showers and isolated thunderstorms are forecast Tuesday night through Friday.
What they're saying: "Certainly by mid-week we'll see highs drop back to the 80s," Megan Varcie, a meteorologist at the Detroit/Pontiac National Weather Service office, tells Axios.