Light spotty rain tonight; Dusting of snow Saturday night

While temperatures this afternoon will be noticeably warmer than past days, a spotty rain shower will be possible late in the day as a weak cold front approaches and crosses the region early Friday morning. It will turn breezy this evening with southwest winds 10 to 15 mph. There is a better chance for rain overnight as the front crosses our area. Temperatures today will peak in the low-50s – just a degree or two above normal.

SIMULATED RADAR from the hi-res model this evening through 7:00 AM Friday.

Rain showers may linger into Friday morning but the general trend on Friday will be improving weather in the afternoon. Those southwest winds will shift northeast and remain breezy through the morning. Expect sunshine but temperatures will be colder with highs in the low/mid-40s.

We get a brief dry period Friday afternoon and Friday night before the next system approaches for a Saturday afternoon crossing. This one is a little stronger and will spread rain showers out ahead. Light rain will change over to snow late in the day through Sunday morning as colder air filters in behind the system’s cold front. Snow accumulation locally will be light – less than an inch.

Low pressure will drag a cold front across the region on Saturday. Initially, precipitation will start out as light rain but transition to light snow showers Saturday evening. Snow showers are expected to continue into Sunday morning with locally light accumulation.

THANKSGIVING WEEK
High pressure will begin to build back in over east-central Ohio Sunday night and keep dry weather for the region Monday and most of Tuesday.

I’ve been discussing the next system that will bring possible holiday travel impacts the last few days. It is important to note that differences in the modeling of the system is still very much uncertain. However, current guidance suggests that a strong low will travel through the Great Lakes region. Tuesday night and Wednesday. The track and timing of the storm will have implications on precipitation types and amounts. At the very least, strong wind gusts will impact travel on a very busy travel day.

EUROPEAN MODEL DEPICTION indicates that a strong storm system may cross the Great Lakes region Tuesday night through Wednesday. If this turns out to be correct, rain, snow, and high winds may bring travel impacts to portions of the state during the busiest travel day of the year.

I will continue to watch the development and track of the system because of the potential for big impacts on holiday travel. For now, it’s just something to keep in mind if you have travel plans for next Wednesday.

As of today, it appears the storm system will exit northeast of the region leaving us with a dry day on Thanksgiving. Much of Thursday’s forecast will hinge on the track and speed of the mid-week storm, though.