Snow showers are expected through tonight with the passage of another cold front. Broad high pressure will travel east across the eastern US bringing dry and sunshine through the weekend. Temperatures will remain below average.
Our weather will remain cold and quiet this morning. Another cold front is poised to cross east-central Ohio this afternoon bringing another round of snow showers to the region. The good news is it will be a quick-hitter and as such, accumulation will total up to around an inch locally.
An area of slightly warmer air just ahead of the front may be just warm enough for rain/sleet initially. With the ground being below freezing this morning, rain could freeze on untreated roads, so watch for that. It’s not a slam-dunk but the possibility is not zero. It will also become a little breezy along the front and snow may briefly come down a decent clip so visibility will be reduced in spots.
Although flurries or a light snow shower is possible ahead of the front, this morning’s guidance suggests the main area of precipitation, whether it be snow or rain, should set underway around lunchtime or shortly after. The front will move through quickly and snow showers should end this evening around 8:00/9:00 pm. Total snow today looks to be about an inch generally. I can’t rule out a little more in the northern half of the county.
FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY
The forecast for the weekend hasn’t changed much since yesterday’s update. A large area of high pressure will build over the Plains on Friday and slowly travel east through the weekend. This strong high pressure will not only bring dry weather to the region over the next few days. It will also play an important role in regards to the much-advertised winter storm system sweeping across the US.
Although there are uncertainties, as it stands today, that high pressure will be in a good position to keep precipitation from extending far enough north to reach our area from the storm system crossing to the south. It’s a powerful storm, though. A slight shift to the north could bring snow into the forecast, but for now, this looks fairly remote and I’ve kept the weekend forecast dry.
We will still need to watch this storm system for changes in the track north or south. Modeling continues to keep this system out of our backyard, so I’m not expecting any big shifts to the north.
Temperatures through the weekend will be chilly, though. Saturday will be the coldest day where we won’t do much better than 30° or so. Sunday will be a little warmer with most areas around 36° for the afternoon high.
NEXT WEEK
Dry weather is expected through midweek with high pressure remaining in place. Our next best chance of precipitation will arrive next Thursday with low pressure crossing the Great Lakes region. It remains to be seen whether this is a rain or snow event.
Temperatures will remain cold through the weekend before rebounding back to about average midweek. Actually, the temperature trend from the European ensembles doesn’t look horrible in the extended period.
