Wind Advisory Will Make Friday Travel Tough Across Southern Michigan — Who Feels the Gusts First

For residents and commuters in southern Michigan, a wind advisory is the immediate threat to travel and outdoor plans this Friday. The strongest gusts will be the first obvious impact — capable of moving unsecured objects, downing tree limbs and producing brief power outages — while dense fog and earlier hail have already complicated the week. If you rely on high-profile vehicles or have outdoor tasks planned, expect delays and extra caution.

Wind Advisory: who is most likely to be affected and how

The advisory covers the southern tier of the state for Friday through 9 p. m. and warns of southwesterly winds sustained near 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph. The gusts are expected to be strongest during the afternoon hours and could make driving difficult, especially for tractor-trailers, SUVs and recreational vehicles. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result; unsecured outdoor items are at risk of being tossed by the winds.

What's easy to miss is that this is not an isolated hazard: it comes on top of dense fog that reduced visibility to a quarter-mile or less earlier in the week and hail that was reported in multiple towns. Here’s the part that matters for people on the move — limited visibility combined with gusty crosswinds increases the chance of traffic slowdowns and hazardous conditions for larger vehicles.

Forecast snapshot and timeline

• Recent conditions: Hail was reported earlier in the week in several locations; sizes ranged up to half-dollar in some towns and quarter-size in others.
• Thursday: Dense fog affected morning commutes in southeast Michigan, with visibility down to about a quarter-mile or less; advisories urged drivers to lower speed and use low beams.
• Friday: Wind advisories cover the southern tier through 9 p. m.; southwesterly winds near 30 mph, gusts up to 45 mph, with rain showers expected to accompany the strong winds across much of southern Michigan.
• Weekend: Temperatures fall from highs near the upper 40s Friday into the 30s over the weekend, with a return of snow Sunday — Detroit given a 70% chance and parts of the southwest about an 80% chance. Colder air and lingering snow showers are likely into Monday in the southwest.

Forecast numbers from briefings indicate a Friday high near 49 degrees, dropping to around 40 on Saturday and near 38 on Sunday. The cold push back into the region is the reason snow returns late in the weekend for many southern locations.

There is a small timing discrepancy in local briefings about when the advisory begins; statements described it as running from Friday morning until 9 p. m. in one update and from 10 a. m. to 9 p. m. in another. That detail is developing, but the end time of 9 p. m. is consistent across briefings.

If you’re wondering why this keeps coming up: being positioned near a stalled warm front has been blamed for the string of fog, rain, hail and now gusty winds — the front set the stage for persistent moisture and unstable conditions that the incoming colder air will overturn.

Practical actions to consider: secure outdoor furniture and trash cans, delay nonessential driving during peak gust hours if you operate a high-profile vehicle, and plan extra travel time if you must commute Friday afternoon. Visibility from lingering fog affected morning travel earlier in the week, and similar low-visibility pockets could reappear with the transition of air masses.

The real test will be how the gusts interact with wet roads and any lingering snow late in the weekend; combined hazards are often what produces the most disruption. What to watch for that would confirm escalation: more reports of downed limbs or localized outages and continued strong gusts into the evening hours. Recent updates indicate start-time details may evolve.

The bigger signal here is the clustering of hazards this week — hail, dense fog, strong winds, and then a cold push with snow — which raises the odds of multi-faceted travel impacts rather than a single isolated problem.