Southeast Michigan entered a severe weather threat Tuesday as a cold front collided with warm air over Metro Detroit, triggering a Severe Thunderstorm Watch and warnings. Around 2:30 p.m., parts of southern Oakland County were under a severe thunderstorm warni
By late Tuesday afternoon, Southeast Michigan wasn’t waiting for the next round of trouble—it was already in it.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued earlier in the day as a cold front moved into Metro Detroit and ran into warm air sitting over the region. The expectation was clear: severe thunderstorm warnings would follow.
Around 2:30 p.m., the warning map tightened. Most of southern Oakland County was under a severe thunderstorm warning as storm cells started to bubble up. The weather system wasn’t crawling. The storms were moving quickly at speeds of 60 mph, and quarter-sized hail was possible.
A ground stop at DTW Detroit Metro Airport added another layer of disruption. The order was issued due to thunderstorms, and there is no scheduled time for when it will be lifted.
The same ingredient that made Monday’s storms hit hard—cooler air meeting warmer air—was taking shape again as the cold front pushed into Southeast Michigan. As the front advances, it also brings in cooler, drier air.
Expectations for the rest of Tuesday were equally blunt: heavy downpours and gusty winds, along with the potential for hail throughout the day. People in the path were urged to track the storms all afternoon by streaming FOX 2 Detroit LIVE on FOX LOCAL.
The urgency isn’t theoretical. Many residents were still dealing with Monday’s fallout, when strong storms brought winds up to 50 mph across Wayne, Monroe and Macomb counties.
Sterling Heights, in particular, saw damage—several trees were uprooted. In addition to cleanup crews, the power impact lingered: DTE was dealing with about 6,000 outages at the time FOX 2 checked in.
Muggy conditions were expected to complete Tuesday’s day. Once the front passes through, wind direction would shift from south to north, bringing cooler air. Temperatures are expected to drop sharply after that—tomorrow’s high could be 20 degrees cooler than today. and the remainder of the week is expected to stay below seasonal readings.
Southeast Michigan severe thunderstorm watch severe thunderstorm warning cold front Metro Detroit DTW ground stop quarter-sized hail 60 mph storms heavy downpours gusty winds DTE outages Sterling Heights 6 000 outages Monday storms