Much cooler temperatures and gusty winds expected today. Cold and dry weather will continue until active weather returns Sunday into next week.
Rain totals over the last 48 hours pretty much kept in line with our forecast. Generally, most local areas received just over an inch of rain. I think if we would have ended up with much more, the river and Stillwater Creek would have reached flood. As it is, all local water gauges are forecast to remain elevated through the weekend but remain below flood stage. (See forecasts here)
Winter has returned this morning! Temperatures will continue to slide downward today as colder air rushes in behind an early morning cold front. The incoming air is not only colder but dryer as well. Leftover moisture this morning may bring a few flurries but gradual clearing is expected and we will get into some spotty sunshine during the afternoon. It will remain breezy with occasional gusts 25 to 30 mph.
Skies will clear overnight allowing temperatures to drop into the low teens. With the gusty wind continuing, wind chills tonight will hover around 0°.
Those clear skies will remain through Saturday to bring a sun-filled day. That sunshine will be deceiving, though. Temperatures will remain cold with afternoon highs in the mid to upper 20s. The wind will back off some but it will still be breezy. The breeze will keep wind chills mainly in the low teens.
Sunday will start out with sunshine but clouds look to increase through the day ahead of a quick-moving storm system tracking through the lower Great Lakes region. Odds for precipitation will gradually ramp up in the late afternoon then become likely Sunday night. Temperatures will warm slightly as the system approaches so any precipitation late in the day Sunday would be rain. Rain will then change over to snow showers Sunday night as temperatures cool.
As this storm system departs on Monday, the next system lifts into the Ohio Valley from the southwest. Precipitation from this one will likely start out as snow Monday night. As temperatures warm with the southerly air, snow will change over to a mix of snow and rain Tuesday morning before changing to all rain in the afternoon.
The system exits east-central Ohio Tuesday night leaving us with a period of dry weather for Wednesday and Thursday. Temperatures look to remain seasonal during the mid-week period.
