The 14th annual Detroit Tree Lighting Ceremony kicks off Friday, and all eyes are on the forecast.
In just the past three years, we've had temperatures range from 13° to 73° on the day of the tree lighting.
The average highs in mid-to-late November are 45°-47° and the average lows are 32°-34°.
Here's a look back at the past 5 years:
NOVEMBER 18, 2016
Record heat was the story of the tree lighting ceremony last year. The high temperature was an astonishing 73° that day, after starting out near 50° that morning.
NOVEMBER 20, 2015
We'll call the weather this year "average tree-lighting ceremony weather." The average low and high for November 20 is 33 and 47 degrees. This day ended up at 33° in the morning and 46° in the afternoon.
NOVEMBER 21, 2014
It was cold! The morning low dropped to 13° the day of the tree lighting in 2014, but the record low is 3° from 1880. Temperatures climbed to 28° for the high.
NOVEMBER 22, 2013
We had some rain this day. It wasn't much, but that's a big deal when it's in the 30s at night. 0.10" of rain fell while we had a high of 46°.
NOVEMBER 16, 2012
This was another year pretty close to averages. Lows were in the upper 20s and highs were in the low 50s.
THIS YEAR'S TREE LIGHTING FORECAST: NOVEMBER 17, 2017
A storm system is developing and gradually moving closer to Michigan over the next two days. However, it looks like it's slowing down, which would mean the bulk of the rain and cold air may hold off until Saturday. We expect a mild Friday evening with temperatures near 50° even after sunset. Although most of the rain won't move in until later on, showers will be possible by 7pm, so it wouldn't hurt to be prepared for rain just in case.
