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Strong, Gusty Thunderstorms Eye Metro Detroit For Thursday

DETROIT (WWJ) - Be prepared for strong winds, heavy rain and maybe some thunder and lightning on Thursday across Southeast Michigan.

AccuWeather Meteorologist Dave Bowers says there's a line of severe weather with metro Detroit in its sights — courtesy of a cold front on the way.

"We call it a heavy thunderstorm — heavy, gusty," Bowers said.  "This will be mainly in the afternoon hours...There is a slight risk area put out by the Storm Prediction Center from southeastern lower Michigan all the way down into northeastern Texas for tomorrow."

That, Bowers says, means forecasters are expecting to eventually issue severe thunderstorm watches in those areas. Heavy downpours are the primary threat, but hair and/or damaging wind gusts are possible in some areas.

Before that heavy afternoon thunderstorm hits, Bowers says metro Detroit will certainly see a rain shower or two. The good news: temperatures Thursday will climb into the 70s.

But Bowers says it will be sweatshirt weather this weekend, with temperatures running 10 to 15 degrees below normal and breezy with a lot of cloud cover.

Here's the detailed forecast from the CBSDetroit weather team:

Thursday: Cloudy skies in the morning followed by thunderstorms in the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 77F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Thursday Night: Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms before midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 53F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Friday: Mostly sunny skies. High 69F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph.
Friday Night: Cloudy with periods of rain. Thunder is possible early. Low 49F. W winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Saturday: Showers early and mostly cloudy later in the day. High 52F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Saturday Night: Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Low 38F. WNW winds at 15 to 25 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10.
Sunday: Partly cloudy skies. High around 55F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Sunday Night: Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Low 39F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.

Know before you go: Keep it tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest forecast during traffic and weather, every 10 minutes on the 8s. See the live, local radar now at this link.

Sign up for severe weather text alerts: Text STORM to 95001
For daily weather forecast text alerts: Text FORECAST to 95001

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