Groundhog Day 2016

January went out on a very mild note across Northeast Ohio and much of the Eastern half of the nation. Locally high temperatures reached well into the fifties (50's) on Saturday and touched sixty (60) on Sunday. Today a cool front moved through during the early morning hours and returned temperatures closer to normal.  A major storm system is organizing over the central plans and will produce a major winter storm over the Upper Midwest. Further south severe weather will hit the Mississippi Valley region before the entire system pushes to the northeast. Cooler air will arrive in the wake of the storm system but Arctic air will not flow out of  Canada into the USA this week.

Today's high temperatures occurred in the predawn hours before a cool front moved through the area. High temperatures were in the upper fifties (50's) before the front moved through. During the daylight hours temperatures remained steady in the lower forties (40's). A storm system is moving east from the Four Corners region and snow is breaking out from Colorado into Nebraska and Kansas.

Tomorrow the storm system will be moving into the central Plains and the snow will become heavy from Nebraska to Wisconsin. In addition winds will increase and create blizzard conditions for many locations. Further south thunderstorms with severe weather will affect the Mississippi Valley region. Storms with severe winds and a few tornadoes will affect areas from Tennessee south into Louisiana. For Northeast Ohio a warm front will move north across the area and high temperatures will rise into the fifties (50's) by the evening. Rain chances will not increase until nighttime. 

On Wednesday the storm system will track into the central Great Lakes. Rain and storms will move through the Ohio Valley early in the day with a cold front. To the northwest of the storm system heavy snow will fall over northern Wisconsin and Michigan.  Northeast Ohio will experience mild temperatures possibly reaching sixty (60) degrees during the morning before the cold front moves through. Temperatures will fall during the afternoon and evening behind the front.  Colder air Wednesday night into Thursday will support snow showers downwind of Lake Erie. Accumulations will be minor if they occur. High temperatures on Thursday will be in the lower thirties (30's).

Conditions will remain largely quiet and an uneventful after the major storm system leaves the region.  High temperatures will rise back into the forties for the remainder of the week and weekend; Precipitation chances will remain low. The next storm system will not approach the area until the beginning of next week