Lansing to get a quick taste of extreme heat Wednesday, Thursday

Update (6:40 p.m.): A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for much of southern lower Michigan, including Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties, until 1 a.m. Friday.

LANSING — Mid-Michigan has largely escaped the extreme heat raging across the west and middle parts of the country this summer. But it's getting a taste of it this week.

Temperatures in the Lansing area climbed into the low 90s on Wednesday afternoon and might do so again on Thursday, with the humidity making it feel more like 100 degrees, forecasters said. And there's a chance for more heavy rain after southern Lower Michigan got a drenching overnight Wednesday.

A heat advisory is in effect until 9 p.m. Thursday for Eaton and Ingham counties. The humidity could drive heat index values to 102 degrees or higher, the National Weather Service said.

"Today and tomorrow are going to be quite hot across Lower Michigan," Scott Thomas, a meteorologist for the weather service in Grand Rapids, said Wednesday afternoon. "We encourage people to take the proper precautions."

Michigan has been fortunate to miss the sweltering heat plaguing the Great Plains and parts of the Midwest, with temperatures here falling right around normal so far this summer, Thomas noted.

Heat advisories are in effect for much of southwest Michigan, which falls right on the edge of the heat dome extending across hundreds of miles, from as far south as Mississippi to as far north as Minnesota. Heat index values of 115 degrees or higher have kept many people indoors and impacted schools without air conditioning.

Dozens of people have died from the summer heat in Arizona, which in July set a record for the most consecutive days (31) with high temperatures at or above 110 degrees, the Arizona Republic reported.

Toss in the deadly wildfires in Hawaii, a rare tropical storm in California, flooding in Texas and persistent smoky skies from Canadian wildfires, and it has been a summer of weather extremes across North America.

Heavy rain led to flooding in the Detroit area and other parts of southeastern Michigan on Thursday, including tunnels leading to Detroit’s main airport, officials said. Flooding on underground roadways blocked access to the McNamara Terminal, and airport officials urged travelers to check the status of their flights.

One early afternoon Delta flight from Lansing to Detroit was delayed.

In the Lansing area, things should cool down after Thursday, with highs of around 80 degrees on Friday, falling back into the low to mid-70s over the weekend, forecasters said.

There was a marginal to slight risk of severe weather in the Lansing region on Wednesday and Thursday, the weather service said. There was a 40% chance of storms on Thursday night, and some could produce heavy rain, the weather service said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing to get a quick taste of extreme heat Wednesday, Thursday