Finally, some sunshine to start the day! If you’re headed out you’ll have no weather issues to deal with this morning and early afternoon under high pressure. That high will shift east as we get into the afternoon and clouds will begin to move back in ahead of a storm system approaching from the southwest. The winter storm will eventually bring a mixed bag of wintry precipitation to the Valley later today, rain overnight, and snow showers for Thursday.
The setup for today has not changed much since yesterday. (Read yesterday afternoon forecast for setup details) Low pressure will travel across the Ohio River Valley tonight through Thursday spreading precipitation into east-central Ohio this afternoon through Thursday. What has changed since yesterday is mainly the timing of the different precipitation types that will impact our area.
LOCAL PRECIPITATION TYPES AND TIMING
Precipitation will spread south to north late this afternoon. A brief period of sleet may mix in as things get underway before snow makes progress northward into the area. Snow can be heavy at times and may accumulate fairly quickly on non=paved surfaces and untreated roads.
The snow will not last long, though. Rain will quickly take over as the main precip type around or shortly after sunset this evening. Rain will then continue overnight. We may see sleet mixing in again during this transition from snow to rain.
A dry slot should move through early Thursday morning. Expect the Thursday morning commute to be wet with perhaps some drizzle or light rain. I’m not expecting any problems with the morning commute.
LOCAL IMPACTS
As I mentioned yesterday, this will not bring any big impacts to our area. Snow accumulation will be more as you travel north so keep that in mind if you go that way for work/school. Locally, snow amounts can be slightly higher in northern parts of the Valley because of the slower transition time to rain later tonight. The potential for heavy snow will highest this evening and early tonight.
The storm will drag a potent cold front across east-central Ohio Thursday. Scattered snow showers will then develop as cold arctic moves in overhead. Accumulation locally will be light. A worst-case scenario would bring an inch or two at best.
SNOW AMOUNTS
Total snow accumulation will run under an inch or less this evening. A majority of that will be wiped out by the rain that’s expected overnight. Occasional snow showers of Thursday won’t add up to much either.
TEMPERATURES
Temperatures today will be borderline freezing to slightly above freezing. It will turn slightly colder as snow begins to fall this afternoon. Temperatures will remain warm enough to support rain overnight. Some of the coldest temperatures so far this season will move in Thursday night and Friday night. Nighttime lows will easily cool to the teens. Daytime highs on Valentine’s Day won’t get much higher than the low-20s.
Those cold temperatures won’t hang around long. We will begin a warming trend over the weekend that will take us into early next week.
Love to see your weather forecasts. I advertised with you before, would love to do it again.
Thanks. Todd Trimble Transamerica