Published 8:30 AM EST Friday, December 18, 2020
Light snow showers and drizzle this morning will gradually subside as the upper levels of the atmosphere dry out. Otherwise, expect yet another cloudy winter day across the Valley with temperatures in the low-30s.
Generally speaking, the weekend weather looks pretty uneventful here in the Valley. We should stay dry on Saturday before a weak cold front pushes through east-central Ohio on Sunday. We can expect a mixed bag of rain and snow showers with the front locally. The type of precipitation at any given time will depend on temperatures throughout the day. In any event, snow amounts appear to be light. Snow accumulating to any impactful amount will be hard to come by given the fact that rain will mix in at times.
Temperatures through the weekend will be fairly flat. Daytime highs will likely top out in the upper-30s to around 40° with nighttime lows right around freezing.
EARLY NEXT WEEK
The weather pattern locally looks rather flat locally as we head into Christmas week. Clouds will, of course, dominate the sky but conditions otherwise look mainly dry and uneventful. Temperatures won’t vary much through Wednesday with afternoon highs near 40°. In short, this looks like another few days of bland winter weather.
CHRISTMAS WEATHER SHENANIGANS
Most folks around here seem to dislike snow – except on Christmas. While our odds for snow on or around Christmas Day is normally around 30-percent, this year is shaping up to look a little different. I’ll stress the fact that this is an early look at the weather set up on Christmas Eve but it does bring a little hope for a White Christmas.
Temperatures leading up to Christmas next week will turn balmy – for late December standard, anyway. Generally, daytime highs locally can be in the low-40s through the weekend and into early next week. Mid-week next week afternoon temperatures could reach the upper-40s.
Warm gusty winds will develop Wednesday ahead of a storm system moving into the Great Lakes region for Christmas Eve. Low pressure will likely push a strong cold front across Ohio which has the potential to bring blustery cold temperatures and lake effect snow showers.
This probably won’t turn out to become a blockbusting snowstorm. It does show some POTENTIAL for lake effect snow showers on or around Christmas Eve. There are differences in the track of the system as well as differences in strength. It’s certainly not within the range where we can make a definitive call yet but it is enough to consider the possibility.
There are a lot of variables to consider between now and Christmas. And, if it does indeed turn out to be a mostly lake effect system, determining if we get any snow down here is even a tougher call. But it is a feature we’ll be watching over the coming days.
Whether this turns out to produce some snow locally or not, it will likely turn much colder on Christmas Day. Daytime highs may only reach the upper-20s.
JANUARY OUTLOOK
NWSCPC came out with their initial January Outlook yesterday and to no-one’s surprise, temperatures look to stay warmer than average during the month. Most climate modeling have been pretty consistent with this trend, so I have no good reason to doubt the CPC outlook.
Have a great weekend. And, as always, be safe (and kind) out there.
