On and off showers and thunderstorms will stick around through Saturday as a series of disturbances cross the region. Dry weather will return Sunday under high pressure.
A low pressure system over Michigan will travel east over northern Lake Erie and continue to New England by tomorrow. An associated cold front will approach east-central Ohio today with showers and embedded thunderstorms mainly ahead of the front.
We can expect multiple rounds of spotty showers and some thunder today as the frontal boundary creeps ever closer. Already, showers and storms this morning over Indiana march eastward and these should weaken as they move into Ohio by this afternoon. However, some thinning of the low cloud deck is expected ahead of this complex and this may allow for an increase in instability this afternoon. Should this prove to pan out, thunderstorms will become more likely.
The dew point this morning is already in the 70s, signaling the abundance of moisture in the atmosphere overhead. This moisture will also help fuel storms this afternoon and allow for the possibility of heavy rain in any storms that develop later. Today’s thunderstorms should move along fairly quickly and storms that do happen to dump heavy rain will not linger long.
Showers and storms will taper off late this evening and end before midnight. Hi-res futurecast simulated radar through 1:00 AM Saturday:
Depending on how much thinning of the clouds we see today, a few storms this afternoon could get feisty. The Storm Prediction Center has the area mainly south of US-30 highlighted for a marginal (low) risk of severe thunderstorms. Gusty wind is the primary threat.
With low clouds, rain, and storms around, temperatures will struggle to reach 80 degrees this afternoon. Should we manage any good amount of sun, maybe 82/83 degrees.
WEEKEND WEATHER CHANGES
I’ve needed to make some changes in the weekend forecast, mainly for Saturday due to the speed at which our cold front crosses the area. Current modeling has slow this thing up a bit and that will keep the threat for spotty showers and storms going in east-central Ohio through late afternoon tomorrow.
Coverage will not be as broad as today’s rain and storms. But the threat will be there for a hit-or-miss shower or storm just about anytime during the first part of the day through mid afternoon. High pressure will slowly take over Saturday night and Sunday will turn out to be a nice summer day.
