Frosty nights ahead; Spotty showers Thursday afternoon

High temperatures today reached 54 degrees in Alpena, 59 degrees in Grand Rapids, Michigan and 50 degrees in Houghton, Michigan. A storm system over Nebraska and Iowa is partially responsible for cutting off the flow of warm temperatures into the Great Lakes region. Cool temperatures for early May will continue through the weekend (and beyond).

A Frost Advisory goes into effect at midnight and lasts until 9 a.m. Thursday. Early-morning lows will be heading to the lower 30s. The National Weather Service issues Frost Advisories (temperatures near 32 degrees or just slightly above) or Freeze Warnings (temperatures below 32 degrees) as needed during the growing season. Precautions should be taken to protect vegetation sensitive to temperatures near freezing.

Low temperatures overnight will drop to about 32 degrees in Alpena, 30 degrees in Onaway, Michigan and 36 degrees in Tawas City, Michigan.

A high pressure system north of the Canadian border has been steering cool and calm weather into the Upper Great Lakes. A weak storm system near the Nebraska-Iowa border will slide to the east. This will increase moisture content, resulting in more clouds and a chance of spotty showers Thursday afternoon. Thursday will certainly not be a washout.

Thursday: A chance of spotty showers in the afternoon. Early-morning lows will be near 32 degrees. Afternoon highs will reach around 51 degrees — that’s 10 degrees below normal for early May! Evening temperatures will be mainly in the 40s.

Friday: Another chance of spotty showers in the afternoon. Predawn lows will head down to about 31 degrees. Afternoon highs will be near 49 degrees. Evening temperatures will be generally in the 40s.

Saturday: Partly cloudy, cool temperatures continue over the weekend. Early-morning lows will be close to 31 degrees. Afternoon highs will get up to around 52 degrees. Evening temperatures will be mainly in the 40s, slipping to the upper 30s late.