Another gorgeous sunny day across east-central Ohio today with high pressure over the Appalachians. Folks across the Tuscarawas Valley will be hard pressed to find anything other than a few wispy cirrus clouds in an otherwise bright blue sky today.
With the center of high pressure just to our east, a light southerly flow will bring in some warmer air this afternoon. Most areas across the Valley should reach the low 60s for the afternoon high. Not bad at all for the end of February.
Clouds will increase tonight, however, as additional southerly moisture streams in overhead. With all of this dry air in place (dew points are in the 20 – 30 degree range), any moisture will evaporate before reaching the ground until late Wednesday morning or early tomorrow afternoon.
As low pressure moves toward the Great Lakes region forcing a war front to lift southeast of our area, we will see our chances for light rain showers increasing Wednesday afternoon. There really doesn’t appear that much more than scattered light showers with this Wednesday afternoon and evening. By Thursday morning, the warm front will make its way north into east-central Ohio and moderate and steadier rainfall will be likely.
Winds will turn gusty Thursday beginning in the mid to late afternoon as the low crosses Lake Erie and there may even be a rumble or two of thunder.
Colder air will spill in behind the system Thursday night and it’s possible that snow will mix in with the rain after midnight. I do not expect any accumulation here in the Valley but there is likely to be accumulating snow as you travel north.
All told there could be three-quarters to up to an inch or so of rain Wednesday through Thursday night with this system. The recent dry break should be enough that it won’t add significantly to our flooding problems.
A windy and blustery day sets up for Friday and there may be a few snow flakes blowing around until the system gets pushed out to the Atlantic Friday evening. Winds will also diminish as the system pushes farther east.
DRY WEATHER FOR THE WEEKEND
High pressure will build in over the weekend allowing for another dry couple of days. Saturday will see some clouds but skies will improve as the day progresses. Sunday will be the pick day with ample sunshine.
Temperatures will be more in tune with the season with highs on Saturday in the low 40s. A little better on Sunday with more sun and afternoon temps in the mid 40s.
