Temperatures across our area will warm to the mid-70s, and it will even feel a little humid as dewpoints rise to the low 60s ahead of an approaching cold front on Saturday. Showers and thunderstorms are likely to develop ahead of the front in an increasingly unstable atmosphere. Some of the storms could become severe.
The primary threat is damaging winds, but weather conditions favor a lesser risk of hail. The risk of an isolated tornado is low but not zero. The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has included all of the east-central Ohio region in a Slight Risk (Level 2 on a scale of 1-5) on Saturday afternoon and evening.
The prospects of storms on Saturday getting severe will largely be dependent on the amount of instability (CAPE) that develops, and that will depend on how warm temperatures become and the amount of clearing we manage to receive. Cooler temperatures and cloudier skies would lessen the potential of storms getting severe.
Current timing places the chance of thunderstorms in our area between 1 PM and 5 PM on Saturday. This will probably change somewhat over the next 24 hours as the high-resolution models get a better idea on the timing of the front.
It has been some time since we’ve had to deal with a severe threat, so ensure you have reliable methods to receive any warnings on Saturday.
