The Highlands

000
FXUS63 KAPX 151755
AFDAPX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Gaylord MI
155 PM EDT Tue Sep 15 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

-Rain coverage generally diminishing into the afternoon with
 increasingly humid conditions. Residual shower development 
 possible this afternoon across NW lower into far NE lower.

-Breezy to windy conditions this morning will slowly taper
 through the afternoon.

-Largely dry Wednesday through Friday with potential for 
 another round of appreciable rainfall this upcoming weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 241 AM EDT Tue Sep 15 2026

Pattern / Forecast Synopsis: 

Strong corridor of isentropic lift being drawn into the region at 
this late hour as northern Michigan finds itself sandwiched between 
a mature 993mb surface low in Manitoba and departing strong 1026mb 
surface high currently making a run at the St. Lawrence River Valley 
/ northern New England. Result is the complete overwhelming of the 
dry layer from Monday as deep moisture is drawn into the region amid 
an active 40kt low level jet nosing into the region, with copious 
lift / f-gen aloft providing more than enough support for rain 
showers to continue through the morning hours across the region once 
the associated surface warm front passes through... which will in 
turn lead to quite the humid afternoon across the region. In 
addition, pressure gradient most pinched overhead this morning will 
likely lead to quite a wind-driven rain for the most part... with 
some gusts pushing 40mph on the lakeshores and the highest of 
interior terrain, generally 25-35mph elsewhere. Once the warm front 
clears, winds should be on a downward trend as the pressure gradient 
slackens, but will still be a touch breezy through sunset.

Decaying precipitation shield looks to really keep cloud cover 
intact through the day, and surface temperatures likely 
struggle to break 70 across the Au Sable River Valley where 
current trends indicate that clouds / showers should linger 
longest. Elsewhere, temps spike into the 73-77 range as peeks of
sun filter through and the warm nose moves firmly overhead, and
dewpoints spike well into the 60s across the board. As such, 
this may be just enough for residual shower / thunder development
in the afternoon as the surface cold front passes through 
northern Michigan. These should be on a localized scale and 
quite transient when considering the flow, but with the zenith 
of moisture concentration overhead, an isolated downpour is 
possible... primarily favoring spots along and NORTH of a 
Cadillac to Alpena line. Current trends do not support enough 
instability to drum up additional shower activity in eastern 
upper this afternoon.

The cold front will surge through in the evening, flipping winds 
more northwest, and commencing the intrusion of cooler and drier air 
as surface high pressure builds by Wednesday. Surface cold front 
associated with the ongoing system looks to turn stationary over the 
lower Great Lakes west into the Corn Belt (just north of an 
impressive late summer thermal ridge over the southeast CONUS), 
which should serve as the focus for additional low level jet driven 
rain / storms through midweek, likely keeping us dry through the 
rest of the week (aside from an isolated shower chance along / south 
of M-55 tonight, but guidance is trending quite bearish to this 
idea... front should be way too far south to support this anyways). 
As such, tentative thoughts at this juncture are that we hold dry 
and seasonable through Friday with highs in the 65-75 range and lows 
in the 40-55 range. 

Looking at next weekend, long term guidance is warming up to the 
idea of another potent Pacific borne, southern stream wave ejecting 
into the Plains... coupled with another deep surge in moisture 
to boot. Still a bit early to make the call, but this pattern 
has basically started holding up a sign that says "HEAVY RAIN: 
PASS THROUGH HERE" with a giant, neon green arrow pointing at 
the Corn Belt into the entirety of the Great Lakes. Will have to
see how amplified this wave is, as a far enough northward surge
in moisture could certainly put us in play for another round of
efficient to even heavy rainfall this upcoming weekend.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY/...
Issued at 151 PM EDT Tue Sep 15 2026

Low CIGS, mainly MVFR, occasionally IFR, to continue at 
terminals through this evening. AOB 20-00Z, improvements 
expected with VFR conditions most of the night. Only concerns 
overnight will be BR/FG, which could be patchy in nature, with
signals across the interior locations at this time. Given the
amount of rain though, could see at least the potential for 
some fog. Breezy southwest winds continue through this 
afternoon, diminishing this evening and tonight. VFR continues
on Wednesday. 

&&

.APX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MI...Beach Hazards Statement until 9 PM EDT this evening for MIZ016-
     018-020-024-025-030-031-036-042-088-095-096-098-099.
MARINE...Gale Warning until 5 PM EDT this afternoon for LHZ345>349.
     Small Craft Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 10 PM EDT 
     this evening for LHZ345>349.
     Gale Warning until 5 PM EDT this afternoon for LMZ323-341-342-
     344>346.
     Small Craft Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 10 PM EDT 
     this evening for LMZ323-341-342-344>346.
     Small Craft Advisory until 2 AM EDT Wednesday for LSZ321.
     Small Craft Advisory until 10 PM EDT this evening for LSZ322.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...HAD
AVIATION...JLD