Today will be another fair-weather day across the Tuscarawas Valley, with daytime temperatures warming to near 80° in most locations. Clouds will increase through the afternoon and evening as a strong low pressure system to our west advances eastward into the upper Great Lakes region.
This advancing system is very likely to result in a significant severe weather outbreak in Illinois, Indiana, and western Ohio late this afternoon and this evening.
This strong storm system will continue eastward this evening, likely entering Ohio around 8:00/9:00 PM and into our area after midnight tonight.
Since the storm system is not expected to arrive in our local area until late tonight, instability will be much lower. However, winds aloft will be unusually strong for this time of the year. The strong wind aloft across eastern Ohio will supply enough shear to support strong thunderstorms despite the lower instability.
While the risk of severe weather will be much higher in areas to our west, thunderstorms entering our area late tonight could still pack quite a punch by the time they reach eastern Ohio. Damaging wind is the main threat, with a much lower potential for large hail and isolated tornadoes. Pockets of heavy rainfall are also possible, but the fast speed of the storms moving across the area should keep any flooding issues localized.
Storms should then exit the region as dawn breaks Thursday morning. Drier air behind the system’s cold front will bring an end to the rain. However, windy conditions will persist for much of the day. Wind gusts in the 30 to 40 mph range are likely – especially during the afternoon on Thursday.
The odds of any additional showers and storms during the rest of the day on Thursday are fairly low and mostly limited to areas along and south of I-70. Dry weather is expected under building high pressure on Friday and Saturday. Chances of showers and thunderstorms return on Sunday with the next low-pressure system.
