Many area residents are pleasantly happy these last few days with the fake spring temperatures that have settled over the region. But, as we all know, it’s strictly a temporary condition. This is January…in eastern Ohio…winter weather is bound to return at some point.
Dry weather is likely for a short time behind a weak cold front moving through the region Friday afternoon. The rain-free period should hold through Friday night. Rain chances will then gradually increase through mid-morning on Saturday, with rain becoming likely in the afternoon.
The system on Saturday will pull a cold front through east-central Ohio Saturday night. Rain showers will transition to snow Saturday night into Sunday morning as the colder air moves into the region behind the front. There won’t be a lot of snow with this, but there can be enough to coat the ground by Sunday afternoon.
One important note with this is that at some point on Sunday, winds will shift a bit more westerly, and this will become more of a lake-enhanced snow event. As such, those areas north and west of our area will end up with higher snow impacts. In our area, that means that our northern communities have a better chance of seeing an inch of snow while those toward the south end up with less.
Snow showers in our area should exit after sunset Sunday evening. The wild card with this will be the potential of any snow bands coming off the lake that can overproduce. That’s something we’ll be monitoring during the coming hours.
While temperatures will turn colder behind our weekend cold front, they won’t be harshly colder by any stretch. As a matter of fact, while it will be colder, daytime highs will still be warmer than average for this time of the year (37° / 21° is the climate normal in the New Phila area for this period).
As noted in the graphic above, the models indicate that another cold front will arrive by Thursday, bringing another drop in temperatures. We do expect this second round of colder air to persist for perhaps 7 to 10 days or so.
Thanks for taking a few minutes to catch up with our local weather. I’ll keep you updated with potential snow amounts through the weekend. Have a great weekend! – Joe
