Detroit Weather Radar - Live Doppler Map (MI)

🌦️ Detroit Weather & Live Doppler Radar Guide

Detroit is situated in southeastern Michigan along the Detroit River, connecting Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie. Known as 'Motor City,' Detroit features a humid continental climate heavily influenced by the surrounding Great Lakes. The Great Lakes moderate winter and summer extremes while providing abundant moisture that fuels summer thunderstorm complexes and winter lake-effect snow squalls. Lake-breeze boundaries pushing inland from Lake Huron and Lake Erie frequently trigger sudden afternoon rainstorms, making real-time Doppler radar surveillance crucial for Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.

📡 NOAA NEXRAD Station: KDTX (White Lake / Detroit, MI)

Our live Detroit radar displays high-resolution data from NOAA's Level-III NEXRAD radar station KDTX, located in White Lake, Michigan. Operating with dual-polarization S-band Doppler technology, station KDTX transmits microwave pulses that scan storm structure, rain intensity, wind velocity, and winter precipitation type across Southeast Michigan and southwestern Ontario, Canada.

🎨 How to Read Doppler Reflectivity (dBZ Scale)

Radar reflectivity measures precipitation density in decibels of Z (dBZ). Use this color reference when monitoring approaching storms on the Detroit radar:

⚠️ Seasonal Severe Storm Threats in Detroit

Winter in Metro Detroit brings Alberta Clippers, heavy Great Lakes snowstorms, and treacherous freezing rain transitions along the I-94 corridor. Summer brings fast-moving squall lines, severe thunderstorm downbursts, and isolated tornadoes along frontal boundaries.