As promised, a much cooler and less humid airmass has moved into east-central Ohio behind a cold front. It’s difficult to not notice the difference in humidity. Dew points across the Valley have dropped around 20 degrees since yesterday morning.
The low dew points, dry weather and cool summertime temperatures will stick around through Thursday.
TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY
High pressure centered over the western Great Lakes will bring a mostly sun-filled day to the region today. A bit of low-level moisture will bring some fair weather cumulus as we warm up through the day. These will quickly diminish tonight after sunset and the loss of daytime heating. Temperatures this afternoon will actually max out a few degrees cooler than average with most neighborhoods topping out at around 80 degrees.
You’ll be able to turn the A/C off and open the windows tonight. We’ll cool off to the mid-50s overnight.
As the Great Lakes high shifts east, Thursday should be a nearly perfect summer day. Skies will be virtually cloud-free. A more southerly flow will inch temperatures back up to near average for the afternoon here in the Valley.
Take advantage of these two really nice summer days. Our weather pattern will change for the weekend.
FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY
The weekend will bring a good news / bad news situation. Good news for area farms, gardens and lawns. Bad news if you have outdoor plans.
Slow-moving low pressure will approach the Great Lakes on Friday. A weak warm front will lift through Ohio raising the prospects for showers and storms in the afternoon.
Temperatures and dew points will creep back up. Cloud cover should help keep afternoon highs in check and most areas won’t get much higher than 85/87. Dew points, however, will spike in the 70s once again, so it will certainly feel muggy.
As the low shifts a bit closer on Saturday, temperatures will be cooler, but the sticky air will remain. The low will move a bit more east by Sunday keeping the threat for showers and thunderstorms going through the whole weekend.
With all that being said, it doesn’t look like it will rain constantly through the period. However, frequent on-and-off showers and a rumble or two of thunder will be the norm Saturday and Sunday.
Temperatures should stay pretty close to average – other than a spike in temperatures Saturday.
Generally speaking, we can expect about an inch to maybe 1.5 inches of rain over the 72 hour period Friday through Sunday. That’s welcome news for local farms and gardens but the timing stinks.
LONG RANGE OUTLOOK
We’ve been talking about a pattern change toward a cooler regime for about a week. Our longer range models continue to show a shift toward cooler temperatures for the latter half of the month. That’s also good news for those who are getting tired of the heat and humidity.
