High pressure will maintain cold and dry conditions today. A mix of rain and snow is expected tonight night and Tuesday with the approach and passage of a cold front. Another area of low pressure will develop over Florida and move northeast along the coast and bring another bout of rain and snow by the end of the work week.
Weak high pressure will keep dry conditions across east-central Ohio today. Clouds will thicken up however with the approach of a cold front that will spread mixed precipitation into the region tonight and into Tuesday morning.
Guidance from the high-resolution models indicates rain showers from the low-pressure system along the east coast. Moisture will eventually spread north into the region after sunset this evening. Most of this activity should stay south and east of the Valley.
Timing between these two systems will play in our favor tonight and Tuesday. As the cold front crosses the region tonight colder air will follow behind. At the same time, moisture from the east coast storm will be shifting north. Less moisture means less snowfall here in our area.
While we will likely see snowfall Tuesday morning, it will not amount to much. Most places will end up with an inch or less. Plus the fact that ground surface temperatures are not freezing yet will limit snow accumulation. I would expect some snow in grassy areas but snow should melt on roads and walkways. Snow showers will end late morning/early afternoon.
Temperatures on Tuesday will hang steady or slowly fall. Northwest winds will increase in the afternoon becoming 8 to 12 mph. Gusts may be as strong as 20 at times.
Cold air will settle over the region Tuesday night and most neighborhoods will cool to the low 20s. Breezy conditions will make it feel much colder.
WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY
Wednesday will bring an uneventful day. High pressure will provide mostly clear skies and sunshine. It will be a chilly day, however. Temperatures will only warm to the mid-30s. A bit of a westerly breeze will keep wind chills in the upper 20s.
The area will remain dry through Wednesday night as high-pressure shifts east. The computer models are in pretty good agreement on the track of the next low-pressure system approaching from the south on Thursday. There are differences regarding precipitation types, however. Using the data I have this morning, temperatures look cold enough for snow to start Thursday morning with a changeover to rain as we approach lunchtime. Rain would then transition back to snow after sunset.
As Thursday’s east coast storm departs, a clipper system will approach from the northwest on Friday. While this looks to stay well north of the Great Lakes, it will usher in another batch of cold air. With a northwest flow over the lakes, lake effect snow will dominate northern Ohio counties. It’s a little too early to get specific, but some bands may reach south into our neck of the woods.
For today’s forecast, I’ve kept the best odds for rain/snow on Thursday tapering off Friday and Saturday. This is definitely not locked in so standby – changes will come later as the models come into agreement.
Temperatures will continue to be colder than average through the end of the work week.
