Posted Monday, April 19, 2021
By now just about everyone knows that we could see some snow in the Valley this week. Some of the details on what we can expect to see here locally are coming into focus. Today (Monday) will likely be the nicest day of the week so if you need to mow the lawn or get some outdoor work done, today will be the best day to work outside. There will be plenty of sun and temperatures will warm to the mid-60s.
The cold front that will bring wintry precipitation to the Valley this week is way off the our west this morning. It will continue eastward today.
The front in question is slated to sink southeast through the east-central Ohio region Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Temperatures will stay warm enough ahead of the system to support rain showers Tuesday night. As colder air sweeps in behind the front early Wednesday morning we’ll see a mix of rain and snow before precipitation changes over to all snow just before sunrise Wednesday.
This will be a quick-hitter. Monday morning’s model guidance shows the best time for snow showers locally from about 5:00 AM to around 8:00/9:00 AM Wednesday morning. Snowfall rates could be heavy at times and light accumulation on grassy areas and elevated surfaces will be possible. With the ground being fairly warm at this point I don’t suspect we’ll see much accumulation on the main roads. There can be some slushy spots on some of those less-traveled secondary roads, though.
Areas north of the Tuscarawas Valley are more likely to end up with getting more snow for a longer period of time. Keep that in mind if you travel north for work or school. The farther north you go, the better your chances of running into travel impacts.
The rest of Wednesday will be a cold raw day with occasional rain showers in the vicinity and perhaps some wet snowflakes mixed in at times. Temperatures will not be warmer than the low-40s with a breezy northwest wind.
GARDENERS TAKE NOTE: Temperatures Wednesday night will likely drop to the upper-20s by early Thursday morning. Freeze/frost headlines are a good bet. If you’ve started your gardens will need to protect those seedlings.
Thursday will bring the sunshine back but it will be chilly yet. Highs on Thursday will be in the upper-40s. Warmer temperatures will start to build back into the region on Friday.
By this time we’re all in full spring mode and none of us welcome the idea of snow. But this happens sometimes. It isn’t unusual. It will be a quick in-and-out and mostly forgotten by Friday. Then, spring can resume as it always does.
Thanks for taking a few minutes out of your day to catch up with our local weather. I’ll post updates here in TUSCWeather and on my Twitter Feed if there are any notable changes. I’m not expecting anything major to change.
Have a great Monday and be safe out there.
