Continued Cold

Another mild weekend has quickly faded in the the rear mirror. Saturday's temperatures in the  50's have been replaced with today's lower 20's and persistent snows off the lake.  This week the cold will maintain is grip of the area with a couple quick moving and weak low pressure systems affect the region during the first half of the week. On Wednesday a low pressure will begin to organize over the Oklahoma Panhandle and move through the Ohio Valley on Thursday. The track is starting to come together and northern Ohio appears to be line for a decent synoptic snowfall. Amounts of more than six (6) inches are possible but will be dependant on how far north the low actually moves and how quickly the low transitions to the east coast. Once the low moves east of the area, the coldest air of the season move over the area on Friday with high temperatures not reaching 20.

Wednesday the low pressure will organize over the Central Plains will a warm front will move north in the Ohio Valley. This warm front will be the approximate location of the track of the low pressure system.

The low pressure will intensify early Thursday as it moves through the Ohio Valley. Moisture will be spread north of the cold front and ahead of the low pressure producing snow and a wintry mixture. The heaviest snow will fall just to north of the area that receives the icy mixture.  As the system passes, additional moisture may be added from Lake Erie.

Current snowfall predictions from Wednesday through Friday morning are for more than ten (10) inches for counties along the lake shore. Total amounts will depend on how quickly the low jumps to the East Coast

The low pressure will intensify further off the East Coast on Friday allowing a return to much colder air advecting into the region on northerly winds. High temperatures on Friday will not rise above 20 degrees.

 The extreme cold will be short lived as high temperatures on Saturday will rise to near 30 degrees. Another front will move through on Sunday which will usher a return to colder than normal temperatures for early next week. How cold this air mass will be is not agreed upon by the models at this time, but subzero temperatures will be possible overnight. Locals wanting a break from the persistent cold pattern may get their wish as there are indications that late next week the weather pattern will alter with the trough migrating to the Western USA.

Reality Check

After a weekend that featured record high temperatures, flooding rains, and snow along the lake shore, the area is back into the grips of winter. Sunday 's high of 63 degrees was one degree away from a record for the date and several cities in Northern Ohio did break record highs.  The warmth, snow melt  and heavy rains pushed many area streams and rivers into flood stage. Most have now receded but a few are still in flood stage but they too will fall below flood stage in the next couple of days.   Approximately eleven (11) tornadoes hit the mid south this past Friday and Saturday resulting in at least two (2) losses of life. Now with the Eastern USA under northwest flow, a colder, drier and more stable weather pattern will hold for the rest of the holiday week.On Christmas Eve temperatures across Northern Ohio fell into the upper tens with lake effect snows blowing off of Lake Erie; a white Christmas will be had by some. For Christmas it will cloudy and a bit cold for this time of the year with high temperatures not rising above freezing.  A week disturbance may spread some light snow across the area late Christmas day into the night. Temperatures will moderate the rest of the week with high temperatures around 40 degrees all weekend before the next system moves in late Sunday.

Light snow is being produced by the northwest flow over the lake. Cold temperatures have once again moved in over Northeast Ohio

Christmas Day should be mostly quiet as high pressure moves off to the east of the area allowing a weakening low pressure system to move through the Great Lakes region. 

High pressure will  maintain its influence through Saturday providing moderating temperatures and at times sunshine.

Sunday evening the next cold front will be moving through. This will return the area to the colder than normal temperatures next week. Looking ahead into next week, an upper level trough is forecast to maintain and maybe even deepen across the Eastern USA. Our attention will turn quickly to a low pressure that will organize along the northern gulf coast for the potential that it will spread snow to our area in the early days of the New Year.