Arctic cold will dominate our east-central Ohio weather pattern this week

It was definitely a cold and bluster Christmas Day across the Valley today and I read many comments on social media about this being a record cold Christmas here in the Valley. Most of the time, our recollection of past weather sometimes gets skewed by nostalgia and it’s best to know the actual numbers before making statements.

While it was a very cold Christmas Day for sure it was by no means record cold locally. Our high today was 30 and our low was 20 which gives us an average of 25 degrees for today. According to records kept at the New Philadelphia airport that would make today the 7th coldest Christmas in recent years.

And, with most neighborhoods getting an inch or snow of snow last night and this morning, Christmas 2017 will go down as an official White Christmas for the Tuscarawas Valley.

A WORD ABOUT THIS WEEK’S WIND CHILLS
There will be several opportunities for nighttime wind chills reaching zero degrees or colder AND daytime wind chills only getting as high as the low teens. If you must spend much time outdoors you will need to protect exposed skin from frostbite.

Arctic cold will firmly control our weather here in east-central Ohio through the week. Not only will temperatures be the coldest of the season, but wind chills will be a big problem for those who must be outdoors.

Monday night temperatures across the Tuscarawas Valley will dip to the teens. Most neighborhoods will stay in the mid teens but those cold valleys will get a couple of degrees colder. Factor in a light west wind at around 5 to 7 mph and wind chills drop to just above zero degrees.

TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY
Very cold. We will probably see the coldest temperatures of the week during this period – especially Tuesday and Wednesday night.

While we will see some occasional sunshine Tuesday it will do very little to provide us with any warmth. Highs tomorrow will struggle to reach 20 degrees. Morning wind chills in the low single digits will only get as high as 10 degrees during the afternoon. If you must be outside tomorrow, take proper precautions and dress for arctic cold.

Tuesday night air temperatures will approach 5 degrees. Wind chills will be about ten degrees colder at -5 by early Wednesday morning.

Wednesday will be deceivingly sunny but temperatures will only warm to the upper teens. Again, if you spend much time outdoors, dress appropriately. It will be frigid!

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY
There will be a slight easing of the frigid cold by Thursday and temperatures will warm to a balmy 21/23 degrees. A disturbance will ride along the upper level trough Thursday night and Friday to bring us low chances for snow showers Thursday night through Friday night.

Even with differing model solutions this far out, this generally doesn’t appear to bring much more than an occasional shower or two through the period. While accumulations will be possible, and exact numbers at this point would be pure speculation. But any snow that happens to stick should be light – not much more than an inch or two at best.

NEW YEARS WEEKEND
Other than the very cold temperatures, the weekend through New Year’s Day shows signs of calm and uneventful weather. We will end 2017 with bitter single digit cold and begin 2018 the same way as a secondary cold front descends across Ohio New Year’s Eve.

The only positive aspect I see is the lack of any appreciative snow associated with the front.

SNOWFALL OUTLOOK
The bulk of snowfall through the next 72 hours (Period ending Thursday afternoon) will be lake effect snow showers resulting in accumulation in northern Ohio counties along the lake shore.

I will mention that some models are suggesting an impressive storm system around January first. However, there is nothing solid enough for me to put any money on at this time. I’ll continue to monitor the situation and report if anything significant looks to develop.

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