Posted 9:00 AM EST Friday, January 8, 2021
The first full week of January has been very cloudy and gloomy, to say the least. And while we haven’t seen the sun for a week or more, our weather has been unusually quiet. There have been no storms and no snow since that Christmas Eve storm last month. In addition, we’ve not experienced any true arctic air and bone-chilling temperatures so far this month either.
Temperatures across the east-central Ohio region have been quite mild. Average daytime highs have topped out in the low-40s over the last week. Normally we would expect daytime highs in the 37° range. But nighttime lows have really pushed our averages up this past week. Normally we would expect temperatures in the low-20 at night here in the Valley but we’ve managed to only drop off to around 32° for daily lows so far.
That’s not exactly balmy but if we average our daily highs and low these first seven days we can see that we’re in a very warm pattern. Temperatures in the Valley are currently running nearly 8° warmer than average.
So despite the steady cloud cover and lack of snow up to this point, we’re at least saving some on our heating bills.
WHAT’S IN STORE FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH?
Friday will almost certainly be another in a long string of overcast and uneventful days. But things start to look a little brighter for the week ahead.
We should see breaks in the clouds and more sunshine over the weekend and into the first part of next week. Generally speaking, there is very little in the prospects for any snow or rain for the next 7 days. Temperatures through the end of next week look to stay warmer than average – daytime highs in the upper-30s and nighttime lows in the mid-20s.
Signs in the longer-range modeling continue to suggest a pattern change as we head into next weekend. We could see the jet stream buckle a bit late next week and that will pull down some colder air from the north. This doesn’t look to bring harsh arctic cold, but it’s likely we’ll see colder temperatures than what we’ve been this last week.
It’s hard to say at this point whether any storms would accompany this but it would be a recipe for some decent lake effect snow. That, of course, has a much bigger impact on our northern Ohio counties. Much will depend on how far south the jet dips and the track of any low pressure systems within the stream. A more southerly track would mean opportunities for snow here in the Valley.
Thanks for reading the Valley’s only local weather outlook. Be safe (and kind) out there.
Interesting to me, driving around in Harrison county, it looks like the trees are trying to push buds already as the forest tops have a hint of red color to them. Hopefully that doesn’t hurt them when the cold does finally set in.