Today will be pretty much a wash out. Rain this morning will continue for much of the day as low pressure tracks out of the Mississippi Valley and into the Upper Ohio Valley. Before it’s all said and done, anywhere from a half to a full inch of rainfall is expected from this system as it crosses.
Local streams and creeks will see increases from the additional rain but with dry conditions the last couple of days we shouldn’t see any significant flooding.
If there is any good news, we remain in the warm sector through today and area temperatures will be around 10 degrees warmer than normal.
GUSTY WIND TONIGHT AND FRIDAY
As low pressure and its associated cold front crosses east-central Ohio this evening we will see winds shift out of the northwest and become quite gusty. Winds will pick up to around 20 mph with gusts possible 40 to 45 mph.
The ground is already saturated and with more rain today winds of this strength will be capable of causing weak-rooted trees to come down possible causing scattered power outages. This is something we’ll be watching for today and tonight.
I would also take a few minutes today to secure any outdoor items that could become airborne in these gusty winds – trash cans, furniture, trampolines, etc.
The National Weather Service has issued a High Wind WATCH in effect from 7:00 PM this evening until Friday morning. West winds of 15 to 25 MPH with gusts to 60 MPH will be possible. Winds of this magnitude will be capable of taking down trees and tree limbs that may cause power outages.
Colder air will rush in behind the front eventually changing rain showers over to wet snow showers. With our wet and relatively warm ground along with borderline temperatures there should be little in the way of accumulation here in the Tuscarawas Valley area. Northern portions of the Valley will be more likely to see snow stick to the roads and that will be mostly tonight when traffic is light. Even then, I wouldn’t count on much of a travel impact.
The rest of us might see accumulating snow on grassy areas and hard surfaces. Total snowfall will be an inch or less.
Snow will taper off Friday morning and should pretty much end by 10:00 or so. Gusty winds will continue through the day tomorrow and into tomorrow evening. As the storm system pushes further east we’ll see clouds begin to break up as building high pressure takes over for the weekend. I even think we’ll see enough breaks in the clouds for some peaks of sunshine Friday afternoon.
A COOL BUT DRY AND SUNNY WEEKEND
We quickly dry out Saturday and Sunday under high pressure and a good amount of sunshine. Temperatures over the period will be much cooler than the last weeks, though. Afternoon highs on Saturday will struggle to reach 40 degrees. Sunday will be the warmest day buty still cool with highs in the low 40s.
MORE RAIN NEXT WEEK
Monday will bring another nice day to the Valley and temperatures will warm to around 50 degrees or so. Another strong storm system will impact east-central Ohio as it tracks across the Great Lakes Tuesday and Wednesday. Rain will once again threaten Monday night but become more likely Tuesday and Tuesday night. Some wrap around showers may persist into Wednesday and the system travels to the east coast.
Temperatures look to be warm enough to support an all liquid precipitation event. We’ll be warm and above average Monday and Tuesday with temperatures more around average setting up for Wednesday.
