Posted 6:00 PM EST Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Slightly warmer temperatures will return to the Valley on Thursday behind an early morning warm front. High pressure will also allow for a mostly sunny day tomorrow. Afternoon highs in our area should top out in the low-40s.
Enjoy the brief warmth. A cold front will arrive on Friday along with a push of colder air. This will bring our temperatures down to the low-30s on Friday – right about average for the latter part of January. While an isolated snow shower can’t be ruled out, the bulk of any snow associated with the front are likely to stay off to our north.
While temperatures will be warmer tomorrow, it will come at a price. Southwest winds will set up with sustained wind at 10 to 15 mph. Gusts could reach 25 mph at times.
STAYING COLD OVER THE WEEKEND
An upper-level ridge of high pressure will keep the area dry but chilly for the weekend. After a cold morning start in the teens, Saturday will be the nicer day of the two with some sunshine occasionally peeking out between the clouds. A cold northwest flow will hold our temperatures to the upper-20s to around 30° for the afternoon high.
Sunday will be a bit warmer, but don’t expect anything other than gray, cloudy skies. Look for afternoon temperatures in the mid-30s.
WINTRY PRECIPITATION TO START NEXT WEEK?
You may have heard rumors of an impending storm system for early next week. As it stands now, the models have not been very consistent in dealing with this storm over the last few days. They do, however, agree that low pressure will develop Sunday night in the Mississippi Valley then strengthen as it travels into the Ohio River Valley. There are significant differences in how strong the system becomes and the exact path the system will take.
The modeling trend has been toward a more southerly track of the system but there is still a significant amount of time for the models to adjust. For now, I’ll just go with a generic forecast: snow develops and moves into east-central Ohio Sunday night with a changeover to rain likely on Monday. Sleet and/or freezing rain is also possible with this early forecast.
The European is the most aggressive of the major models and tracks the parent low pressure near the Ohio River. It also presents the deepest low pressure to the system. The GFS and Canadian, not so much. The bottom line is that a storm of some sort is likely but any details as to precip types and timing will need to be worked out over the coming days. The track (north/south) will have significant impacts on precip types and amounts here locally.
Thanks for reading the Valley’s only local weather forecast. As always, be safe (and kind) out there
