Today will be much like Wednesday as far as precipitation goes. If you need to get outdoors for a bit, maybe take a walk, or just get out of the house for a breath of fresh air, you should be good during the morning and early afternoon. Today will not be a bright day, but we’re currently between systems at present.
Temperatures this afternoon will be warmer than yesterday and most area neighborhoods will see highs today near 63°/65°.
Our next round of rain will begin moving into the east-central Ohio region early this evening. Rain looks to stick around the Valley for the better part of the early night tapering off after midnight.
Like last night, there may be pockets of heavy rainfall with this and perhaps even a rumble or two of thunder. Strong thunderstorms are not likely locally but there are decent odds for severe thunderstorms in central and western Ohio.
You will also start to notice the south wind picking up later tonight. Wind gusts will gradually increase overnight to around 15 mph. This isn’t enough to cause any problems tonight but the wind will have impacts on Friday’s weather locally.
FRIDAY
Tomorrow’s weather will turn a bit more active. A strong cold front is off to our northwest and it’s poised to travel southeast through east-central Ohio by mid/late afternoon. This front will bring the possibility for a strong thunderstorm or two to the Valley mainly Friday afternoon and early evening.
INITIAL TIMING
Two waves of thunderstorms are possible with tomorrow’s front. The first round can set up ahead of the frontal boundary and move through our area first – maybe close to lunchtime. The second round, the skinny band on the image below which may come through during the mid-afternoon, will be the one to be particularly mindful of.
THREATS
The wind will be our biggest issue tomorrow. Even outside of any thunderstorms it will be gusty with gusts in the 30 to 35 mph range. Any thunderstorms that develop and move through will be capable of pulling down stronger gusts. In addition, there is a LOW RISK of a spin-up tornado or two. As a result, the Storm Prediction Center has all of our area under a Marginal Risk (1/5) for severe thunderstorms tomorrow.
I’ll stress that the threat for weak tornadoes is low (2%), but it isn’t zero either. Strong wind gusts are the larger concern. Be weather aware tomorrow.
AFTER THE STORMS
Friday’s cold front will have teeth. Temperatures will nosedive Friday evening and Friday night.
After a day on Friday with highs in the 70s, temperatures will turn sharply colder on Saturday – on the order of 30°+ colder. Thankfully, our weather will be dry through the weekend and we will have sunshine at least. Not to worry, though. Temperatures will slowly recover next week.
UPDATES: I’ll post an update tonight or early Friday morning with any updates – including better timing for the arrival of storms in our area and any changes in the potential for severe weather locally.
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