The rain that brought such a gloomy day yesterday has all shifted east of the region this morning. A significant dry slot extends east ahead of a strong low pressure system over Iowa and Missouri. This area of dry air will bring thinning clouds and warm temperatures to east-central Ohio this afternoon.
Temperatures across the Valley will warm to the 60° area this afternoon. We won’t break the record for today but it will feel wonderful none-the-less. The record high today is 66°.
Enjoy the warm temperatures and sunshine. It may be the last for quite some time.
TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY
The low pressure system I mentioned above will shift east into the Great Lakes region tonight accompanied by two cold fronts. Rain showers will return tonight as the first cold front travels through east-central Ohio.
The best odds for rain will be north and east of our area tonight. A few spotty showers will be likely in the Valley tonight. Folks in northeast Ohio may even get into thunderstorm or two. A couple of storms could produce damaging wind gusts up that way.
Depending on how much sun we get today, I can’t rule out a thunderstorm this evening – especially in northern portions of Tuscarawas County. The more sunshine, the better our chances will become. Any storm today would be capable of producing gusty wind, so you might want to secure those inflatable outdoor decorations.
The second front will drop through the region Monday afternoon. Chances for a more widespread rain event will be better with this second front. The air behind this one will be cold enough that any lingering rain/drizzle hanging around in the evening will change over to snow after sunset. There may be a brief period of freezing drizzle (frizzle?) Monday night. In any event, any snow or freezing drizzle will be brief and should not be a big problem for the Tuesday morning commute.
Drier air will quickly move in by Tuesday morning leaving us will a mostly dry day. Temperatures, however, will be much colder and most neighborhoods will end up with an afternoon high in the mid 30s.
EXTENDED PERIOD
The 60° highs today will be just a memory. The forecast through the end of the week looks cold and this cold may persist through mid-month.
A series of weak upper level disturbances will cross through the latter part of the week. The first on Wednesday doesn’t look to have much moisture, so I wouldn’t expect much more than clouds. Another bump on Thursday would have enough to bring rain and snow showers. Temperatures would be cold enough Friday for light snow.
Rumors of a “big” storm for the weekend have been circulating on social media. I will say that a winter storm is possible but recent model runs have kept it well to the south. Let’s keep hoping that the southerly trend continues with modeling this week.
