Harvest Moon Gets Competition From Clouds: Metro Detroit Weekend Weather

METRO DETROIT, MI — Here’s a bummer to start your weekend. Your chances of seeing that bright, orange harvest moon rise Friday and Saturday night aren’t good.

In a hazardous weather statement, the National Weather Service said that although thunderstorms are expected into Saturday aren’t expected to be severe, they could bring heavy downpours as they track to the northeast at 30 mph.

Rain could begin falling after 9 p.m. Friday, and are likely after 2 a.m. Saturday, when cloudy conditions will persist. Thunderstorms are possible as a cold front tracks through the region.

So that much-hyped harvest moon — experts disagree on whether it’s a supermoon, but a NASA scientist emeritus says it is — may rise big, orange and bright without you actually noticing.

• See Also: Harvest Moon or Supermoon? Experts Disagree

By Sunday, you should still be able to get a good view of the waning gibbous moon that is 96 percent visible.

Here are the moonrise times:

• Friday: 7:48 p.m.
• Saturday: 8:24 p.m.
• Sunday: 9:01 p.m.

Here’s your weekend forecast:

Friday night: A 70 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms between 9 p.m.and 2 p.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 a.m.; mostly cloudy, with a low around 66; south wind 6 to 8 mph. New rainfall amounts between a tenth of an inch and a quarter of an inch are expected; higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday: A 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms,mainly before 9 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79; southwest wind 11 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth of an inch and a quarter of an inch are expected; higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2 a.m., then mostly cloudy with a low around 63; west wind around 5 mph, becoming calm in the evening.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77; west wind 5 to 9 mph. Sunday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 59.