Dry weather and warmer temperatures are expected today. Moisture will then increase ahead of a slow-moving cold front, bringing showers and thunderstorms back to our area later tonight and Tuesday. Some heavy rainfall totals are possible, and a few storms may be strong.
Today will bring one more dry weather day to the Valley. Temperatures this afternoon will be warmer than those we had over the weekend and we should top out in the 86° – 88° range locally. We will also keep the sunshine going today but you will notice an increase in clouds through the afternoon and evening.
Our calm and uneventful weather these last several days will turn active tonight and Tuesday. A strong low pressure system will track across Ohio tonight and Tuesday accompanied by a cold front. We can expect showers and thunderstorms develop in western Ohio this evening and these will move into the east-central Ohio region late tonight into early Tuesday morning.
There will be two concerns with this system locally – a low threat for strong to severe thunderstorms and a moderate threat for heavy rainfall and flash flooding.
The risk for severe thunderstorms locally is pretty low – not zero, but with the early morning timing of the system, conditions will just not be all that favorable for severe storms. The Storm Prediction Center has our area in a Marginal Risk (1/5), so an isolated gusty thunderstorm is certainly possible.
The highest threat for severe storms will be to our south and east.
The main concern for our area is the potential for heavy rainfall and the possibility for training showers and thunderstorms. This could potentially lead to isolated instances of flash flooding anywhere in the east-central Ohio region.
Showers and thunderstorms will decrease in coverage Tuesday evening as the front settles south and we lose daytime heating. That low pressure system, however, will be slow to cross the state and we will need to keep low odds for scattered showers and a thunderstorm in the forecast through Wednesday afternoon.
With rain and clouds around, temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday will cool back down to the low 80s for the daytime high.
LATE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND
A series of upper-level disturbances will ripple through the region Wednesday night and Thursday. Generally speaking, Thursday will be dry with a mix of sun and clouds, but a passing shower or storm can’t be ruled out.
High pressure and fair weather will return on Friday. Temperatures will remain around average for mid-August with afternoon highs in the low 80s.
Temperatures will trend warmer over the weekend – especially on Sunday as the center of high pressure shifts east and sets us up with a southerly breeze.
