Posted Monday, July 27, 2020, 9:00 AM
Today will be another hot day in the Valley and likely the hottest day of the week. It will also turn more humid this afternoon with dew points in the low-70s. The combination of high temperatures and humidity will push heat index values to the mid-90s locally today.
Our hot weather pattern will come to an end tonight with the passage of a cold front. Showers and thunderstorms will likely accompany the front as it edges closer to east-central Ohio this afternoon/evening. The late arrival of storms will help hold down the threat for severe thunderstorms in eastern Ohio.
Any storms late today could produce strong wind gusts and heavy downpours. The Storm Prediction Center has eastern Ohio under a low-end risk for severe thunderstorms.
The air will be pretty soupy today. That tells us that there is plenty of moisture for storms to work with later. But thunderstorms will be moving along at a decent rate so any neighborhood that happens to get under a downpour should have minimal issues with flooding. Areas with poor drainage will be more susceptible of course.
LOCAL TIMING
Showers and thunderstorms will begin firing in western Ohio this afternoon and shift east by this evening. The best chances for rain and storms locally will be from around 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Showers and thunderstorms will shift south and east tonight along with the front.
Hi-Res FutureCast radar indicates the best opportunity for thunderstorms in the Valley at approximately 6PM to 10 PM. [Graphic used to illustrate timing but not exact placement of precipitation.] .Seasonal temperatures will follow behind tonight’s front. Temperatures locally Tuesday through Saturday should stay in the low to mid-80s. Drier air will also bring lower dew points which means it will be much less humid. The general west-to-east flow will bring occasional chances for showers and storms each day during peak afternoon heating.
The next chance of a widespread rain event will arrive over the weekend with the potential for a more-organized low pressure system moving through the Great Lakes region.
