Winter Storm WARNING for Wednesday

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR WEDNESDAY!

Snow will begin Wednesday morning and continue until Thursday morning. New snow by Thursday morning will total 8” to 10” with lots of blowing and drifting expected on Wednesday and Wednesday night. The heaviest snow should fall during Wednesday afternoon and evening.

Snow and more snow!

   A very active weather week is in store for the area. The good news is that Christmas Day will be nice for your travels. The bookends around it, though, not so nice.
   This is Christmas Eve and an area of light snow will be heading into the region during the afternoon. It may even mix with rain for a while and then some freezing rain after dark. But, all in all, it won't amount to too much of a problem for you. (See map below)

Map courtesy of AccuWeather

   Christmas Day should see a mix of clouds and sun during the day.  As we head toward the later part of the day, the clouds will thicken as a major winter storm heads up from the south. Current forecasts indicate that the snow should begin early on Wednesday morning and continue through the day and into the night. (See map below) This has the potential to be really big, but at the moment I'm looking at 5" to 8" generally by Thursday morning. Some forecast models are showing more than that, but I don't want to go there yet. We'll wait and see how this thing develops. 

Map courtesy of AccuWeather

   We should settle things down a bit on Friday, but another system will head our way for the weekend. 

   Whew! Busy times!  Nothing at all like last winter.

   Enjoy...and Merry Christmas from us here in the Weather Center!

Lake Effect Snow Event is on the way

   I like it when weather people use the term "event" to refer to something about to happen...like Lake Effect Snow Event. Just makes me want to rush out and buy a ticket.  LOL
   Anyhow, a surge of cold air is on it's way to NE Ohio. This will be the coldest air of the season and when it arrives Thursday night/Friday morning the rain will change to snow accompanied by strong winds and lake effect snow. How much snow are we expecting? Well, with lake effect you never really know whats going to happen. A slight shift in the wind direction and any specific area can get dumped on or miss out completely.

   As for this storm, the center of it will move to our northwest creating blizzard conditions west of Chicago and across parts of Michigan. Locally, the lake effect snow will likely begin overnight Thursday into Friday morning and then continue through Friday and Friday night. I suspect we should see anywhere from 2" to 5" of snow on the ground by midday Saturday...the lighter amounts to the south of Akron with the heavier amounts up north.
   After this system moves away we will get a little break for Christmas, then another storm is forecast for the days immediately following the holiday. This one could be big, so you will want to stay tuned to later forecasts.

Not as cold as it could be

     The long-range computer trends are all over the place. The consensus seems to be that we will trend colder later this week as expected, but there is no big Arctic outbreak in the works.
     Beginning Thursday night and over the weekend we will see some lake effect snow. That may be the only snow we see prior to Christmas. A storm we were looking at for the weekend isn't going to develop.  Hopefully, thought, it will stay cold long enough to keep some of that snow around for Christmas Day especially in the snow belt areas.
     After Christmas? Well, that's a different story.  We could actually see a real-live snow system heading into Ohio a day or two after the holiday.
     More later.

Winter...it's coming

   Lots of people asking me this past week when it was going to get cold and snow. They answer: next week.
   As we head into the week before Christmas, our weather patter is going to be shifting into a more typical winter mode for the Great Lakes. The week will start off rather mild, but by mid-week we will see the temperature trending downward. Next weekend, the weekend before Christmas, it's going to be cold and we could see our first measurable snowfall of the season (see the map).
   So, let's all join hands and sing, "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..."

A warming trend

A warming trend is heading for the region and it will likely hang around into the second week of December. Daytime highs the rest of this week will gradually warm through the 40s reaching 50+ by the weekend. Temperatures the early part of next week will remain warm, then cool down for midweek before warming again toward the weekend.

Our normal high temperatures for late November are in the mid 40s dropping into the lower 40s for early December. With that in mind, you can see from the maps below that the trend for days 6-10 and 11-15 are near or above normal. Don't get too excited yet, however. It's not going to last. Colder air is expected to return the week before Christmas.

December 2-6

December 7-11

(Maps courtesy of AccuWeather)

Lake Effect Snow in the forecast

(Radar as of 7pm Friday night. Yes, the blue is snow. LOL)

Looks like we could get our first lake effect snow of the season. As expected cold air has moved into NE Ohio and it's going to hang around for the weekend. Just to let us know it's the Christmas season, we could see anywhere form 1 to 3 inches of snow by Saturday night, the heaviest in the secondary snow belt of northern Portage and Summit counties.

Woo Hoo!  "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

Sunny and warm for Thanksgiving; Cold and snowy for the weekend

Well, here we go. Mother Nature is about to do some mood swings. We're going to be OK this week through Thanksgiving and probably through Black Friday as well. After that a surge of cold air with lake effect snow is likely over the weekend. Then next week (November 26-December 1) daily temperatures will start to do the yo-yo thing.

As for Thanksgiving, it's looking really nice around the lower Great Lakes. We are expecting sunshine with temperatures well above normal.

It will be sunny and mild over the lower Great Lakes for Thanksgiving.
(Map courtesy of AccuWeather)

Friday will be a bit cooler, but not bad. However, a cold front coming through late Friday will knock our Saturday temperatures down into the 30s with a good likelihood of lake effect snow showers. At this point it's not expected that we will see any major accumulations here in the greater Akron area, just a little dusting to make it feel like the beginning of the Christmas season.

Colder air with lake effect snow will move in overnight Friday and continue on Saturday.
(Map courtesy of AccuWeather)

Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday!

Pre-Thanksgiving Forecast

The weather is looking fairly nice now through Thanksgiving. The cold air that moved in Monday afternoon will slowly moderate until temperatures get up to near normal (upper 40s/near 50). Temperatures will stay in that area through the holiday, then afterwards, it looks like another cold air mass will move in.  So, between now and Thanksgiving, enjoy the sun and warming temperatures.

If you are traveling Thanksgiving week, here is the AccuWeather holiday travel forecast:

The quiet in the center of the storm

Daisy pulled a fast one on us. She was expected to move into central Pennsylvania and then head north. Instead she just kept heading west until she got near Pittsburgh/Youngstown and then took the turn. at 6pm this evening, as you can see by the wind map below, the center of Sandy was right along the Ohio/PA border. That put us near what would have been the eye of the storm when it was tropical. As a result the wind died down considerably this afternoon. Since the heaviest wind is on the west side of the storm, central Ohio was the area that celebrated a windiest afternoon.

As we go through the overnight, Sandy should move far enough away from us that the wind will increase once again. It won't be as windy as last night, but it will still become quite breezy. Last night we experienced a 45mph wind gust at the Weather Center in Streetsboro just after 2am.

Rainfall was fairly heavy today. As of 6pm we had collected .80" at the Weather Center giving us a total of 3.30" since the rain began on Saturday. By the time this whole system moves away, which should be during the day Friday, we expect to have had over 4" of rainfall this week.

In the meantime, just sit back for another couple of days and enjoy the clouds, the wind, and the rain. Based on the current forecast we should finally see the sun again on Saturday, but it's only Tuesday evening, so you never know.

Hurricane Sandy Update - 3:30pm Monday

It was interesting this afternoon watching the wind field increase in NW Ohio and work it's way eastward. Overnight tonight we should see sustained winds of 30+ mph with gusts over 50mph. During the day tomorrow the wind will eventually back off to a sustained level of 20+ mph with gusts over 30mph.  It's still going to be very windy, but the worst of the weather should be overnight tonight (Monday) and Tuesday morning.

Rainfall will continue to be quite heavy as well. We had 1.50" on Saturday and Sunday. By the time we get to Thursday morning we will add another 2" or more to that total. By the time this system moves out of the area early Friday, we will probably end up with nearly 4" of rain. That's a lot of water!

Overnight tonight and tomorrow we need to be concerned about trees and power lines. The continued strong sustained winds will wear down trees and wires and eventually the trees will fall over, the power lines will break, and extensive power outages will occur. Be careful where you park your vehicle and be careful where you walk.

Sandy update: Sunday 8pm

Over half an inch of rain fell today at the Weather Center. This is just the beginning of what is going to be an interesting week.

Hurricane Sandy will affect NE Ohio in a big way beginning Monday afternoon. Sustained winds Monday afternoon will reach 20+ mph and remain there through the day Tuesday. In addition, wind gusts of 40+ mph are expected Monday night and throughout the day on Tuesday. These strong winds combined with up to 2” of rainfall during the period will make the ground soft and cause trees to uproot. Considerable property damage and widespread power outages can be expected beginning Monday night. Conditions will start to improve during the day Wednesday, but will still be dangerous.

When you go out tomorrow, be careful where you park your car. Try to avoid parking near trees or power lines. You know why!

Getting ready for Sandy

Unless you've been living under a rock you know that a big storm is heading into our neighborhood. At present it looks like we will see winds and rain increase during the day Sunday. However, Monday night through Tuesday we will likely see the worst of it. During that time we expected 2-3 inches of rain, sustained winds of 20+ mph with gusts of 30-40 mph.  That much wind for that duration combined with the heavy rain (which will make the ground soft) will likely result in numerous trees being blown over. When trees come down you get property damage along with power outages.

So, that's what we have to look forward to.

The winds will back down a bit on Wednesday, however it will still be breezy. And, the heavier rains will turn to showers. But, still...it could be ugly.

More later.

Here comes Sandy!

Hurricane Sandy is heading up the east coast and will impact our weather next week. While the exact track is not certain, the present indications are that Tuesday will be our big day. Winds will actually increase during the day on Monday.  We could end up with a period of 24-36 hours of sustained winds of 15-20mph with gusts well over 30mph. That will be a long period of heavy wind and could result in damage to trees and power lines as they become weakened by the continuing winds.

We will know more by late in the weekend. Meanwhile, just be advised that some interesting weather is on the way.

Here comes Fall!

Rainfall tonight (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday) across our
area will total 3/4" to 1". You can see by the purple and red
that much heavier amounts of rain will fall to our southeast
and east.  (Map courtesy of NOAA)

Some real Fall weather is on the way to NE Ohio. A cold front will cross over the region tomorrow morning. The front combined with a rain system from the south will dump from 3/4" to 1" of rain across our area tonight and tomorrow.

After the front passes, daytime high temperatures will remain in the 60s and lower 70s the rest of this week right on through next week.

So, it's time to warm up the furnace and get out the sweaters and jackets. A real taste of Fall is on the way.

Rain, rain, where did you go?

Radar at 3pm Monday shows isolated
storms developing across northern Ohio.

I don't think anybody is complaining much, because it turned out to be a not-so-bad holiday weekend. As you know, we were predicting lots of clouds and rain, but it never happened. A rain band from Isaac moved through late day Saturday and that was just about it, except for a few other isolated areas of rain and storms. Just as Isaac stalled off the Louisiana coast when it was a hurricane, the remains headed north up the Mississippi and then stalled out over southern Illinois and Indiana. We expected the system to move to the east over the weekend but it did not. As a result, the rain never happened. This afternoon (Monday) while it has been cloudy and rainy in southern and central Ohio much of the morning, it's been mostly sunny and very muggy up here in the north. That has prompted some convective storms to develop across northern Ohio (see the radar map). This activity will continue until sunset, then dissipate. The same thing will likely happen tomorrow afternoon and evening. Meanwhile, I hope you had a pleasant Labor Day and if you had to work, thanks for laboring.

Holiday Weekend Update

The remnants of Isaac are expected to move through the Midwest into the lower Great Lakes. While timing is not certain, at the moment it looks like rainfall here will begin by late Sunday and continue into Monday, Labor Day. Based on current projections, total rainfall locally is expected to be ½” to 1” by midday Tuesday. Heavier rain is likely south of Canton.

Looking at the Labor Day weekend

Looking ahead week to the Labor Day weekend, it appears that we may have have a mixed bag of weather. It's early yet, but there is a possibility that we will have to deal with the remnants of what will become Hurricane Isaac. The forecast models show a blocking ridge in the southeast and thus the storm center will likely head up the Mississippi River and then angle across the lower Great Lakes. (see map)

Again,  it's too early to tell for sure what will happen, but if this scenario works out, we can expect Saturday to be an OK day with clouds increasing Saturday night. Sunday could be breezy with showers as the remnants move through.  Monday is still is a question.  Obviously, we will know more once Isaac makes landfall.

What's in the cards for fall?

It's interesting from this perspective to read the chatter about the upcoming fall season. As we went through the summer months of July and August the long range forecasts ended up being revised every few weeks. The forecasts and reality were not matching up. I'm sensing this same trend into fall.

Long range forecasters like to look back at previous years and match up temperature and precipitation trends with the current. These guys are having a difficult time...and the computer models aren't helping either. My gut feeling is not to buy too deeply into the long range forecasts.

Last winter, you'll recall, we expected the cold air to surge into NE Ohio right around Thanksgiving, then about mid-December, then around New Years, then...  Well, we finally hit normal in April. The previous months were all above normal, just the opposite of what was initially expected. So, it goes. The trending right now is for temperatures in September and October to be normal to slightly above, just don't bet the farm on it.

Bye-Bye July

It's time to say, "Good-bye" to the month of July.  It was indeed a toasty one, just like most of the summer so far.

According to statistics from the National Weather Service and NOAA, here is what July did for us nationwide:

• 171 all time highs were broken or tied
• Over 4,000 daily high temperatures were either tied or broken
• July produced the lowest number of tornadoes since 1951

In addition, this summer is on track to be at least the 3rd hottest summer since 1950 and may end up higher than that.

As for the greater Akron area, so far this summer we have had 22 days when the mercury hit 90 degrees or higher. By the way, there's more of that to come!

I think I'm looking forward to Fall.

19 days of 90+ this summer!

Today (Tuesday) was the 19th day this summer of our temperature reaching 90 degrees or higher. Here at the Weather Center in Streetsboro we topped out at 98. Officially at Akron/Canton the mercury hit 101 degrees on July 7th and 99 degrees on July 6th. This could end up only the 3rd highest this month. That's crazy!  Ha Ha!

The 90s started out in late May. May had two 90+ days, June had 10, and so far July has had 7. Add them up and that's 19 days of 90+ this summer.  That's way more than usual.

In fact, these temperatures are the hottest this century. Since 2000, prior to this summer, the highest was only 95 degrees in 2001 and 2002. Here's a look at the official Akron/Canton high temperatures this century:

The temperature hit 98 degrees this afternoon at the WSTB Weather Center

• 2000 - 87 degrees
• 2001 - 95
• 2002 - 95
• 2003 - 89
• 2004 - 87
• 2005 - 93
• 2006 - 92
• 2007 - 92
• 2008 - 91
• 2009 - 90
• 2010 - 92
• 2011 - 94
• 2012 - 101 (so far)

Ah...relief!

Hot is nice in the summer, but too much of a good thing is...well...too much. I'm glad we finally got some cooler air to move into the region. Daytime highs the first part of the week will be in the lower 80s and that's gonna feel downright good.

We did bust a few official records this past week at the Akron/Canton NWS office. The hottest was Saturday when the mercury hit 101 degrees breaking an old record set in 1988. Here at the Weather Center in Streetsboro we only made it up to 99 degrees (sad face).  We could have cracked 100, but a thunderstorm moved through mid-afternoon and in a matter of minutes dropped the mercury from the upper 90s to near 80.

At any rate, the 10 day heat wave is gone...at least for this week.  We could see a return next week (the week of July 15th), so don't get too comfortable just yet.

Here are the daytime highs for the recent heat wave:

Date - NWS Akron/Canton - WSTB Weather Center

Thursday, June 28 - 95 / 95

Friday, June 29 - 96 / 95

Saturday, June 30 - 90 / 91

Sunday, July 1 - 94 / 93

Monday, July 2 - 92 / 92

Tuesday, July 3 - 85 / 83

Wednesday, July 4 - 96 / 96

Thursday, July 5 - 90 / 88

Friday, July 6 - 99 / 97

Saturday, July 7 - 101 / 99

The heat is on...for now

Five days of 90+, then finally a break on Tuesday (in the mid 80s), but right back at it now through Saturday. Ah, but, then...relief is on the way for next week.


Here's what he had recently for daytime highs:


Thursday, June 28th - 95
Friday, June 29th - 96
Saturday, June 30th - 90
Sunday, July 1st - 94
Monday, July 2nd - 92
Tuesday, July 3rd - 85 (lots of clouds with rain)
Wednesday, July 4th - 91 and climbing as of 12:30pm


The 90+ temperatures will continue into Saturday.  Sunday will cool down a tad, but then next week more refreshing air will invade the region with daytime highs around 80 to start the week. We will then warm up again late week, but I don't think it will be "90s hot", just in the mid 80s.

What a difference a year makes

I'm siting here on Wednesday morning looking at the forecast with NO RAIN through the weekend. So, I figured I'd go back and compare the dry spring we have had this year with the wet one we had last year. Yeah. Well that can leave one rather depressed.  I looked at April, May, and June (through mid-month) for 2011 and 2012.  By this time last year in those two and a half months we had recorded 10" more rainfall (13.93") than we have had this year (3.95"). Wow! That's quite a diference...from a flood to a drought in 365 days.
For the remainder of the summer conditions may improve a bit.  The forecast is for normal to a bit above normal precipitation here in eastern Ohio. But, we are quite a bit behind where we should be this Spring. Rainfall-wise for April, May, and the first half of June should be at 9.75".  Instead we are 5.8" BELOW that number. That's certainly not good news for you gardeners.  I've been hearing you, but unfortunately I just predict the weather, I don't make it.

Memorial Day weekend looking good

Looks like a nice Memorial Day weekend coming up.  Lots of sun with temps 85-90. Enjoy!

What snow?

Total storm snowfall
(Map courtesy of National Weather Service)

Well, that was a nothing storm. As noted previously, I didn't expect much...no more than an inch or two of snow by Tuesday morning. In fact we got less than that. In fact we got virtually nothing...no rain and no snow. The storm system had a sharp cutoff on the western edge as we expected. Some snow did fall in the Youngstown area, but even that didn't accumulate much. You can check out the map to the left to see where the snow actually did fall.
Conditions will gradually improve the rest of this week. Our normal daytime highs should by in the mid 60s.  We won't get there, but at least we will warm into the 50s.
Enjoy!

Ha Ha Ha! Snow!

Gads...you gotta love NE Ohio in the springtime and this year has been really bizzarre. Anyhow, it looks like another round of snow and wind is heading into the area overnight Monday into Tuesday morning.

Total snowfall expect through midday Tuesday.
(Map courtesty of AccuWeather)

The scenario is that a big storm system is heading up the east coast.  That LOW will cause lots of snow to fall in the mountains of Pennsylvania and extreme eastern Ohio. The drop-off in snowfall rates will be rapid (see the map) with the Youngstown area getting up to half a foot of snow by midday Tuesday.  Locally we are looking an inch or two in Portage County and around an inch in Summit County. That's not a lot of snow, but it will be of a heavy, wet variety and combined with strong winds could cause some problems for power lines and tree branches.

During the day Monday we will have occasional rain, then after dark the rain will change to snow.  The snow will continue into Tuesday morning before it changes back to rain. If you plan to head east into the Youngstown/Pittsburgh area Tuesday morning you can expect some nasty driving conditions.

Daytime highs will remain in the 50s the rest of the week.

One more cool-down

After a very pleasant Easter weekend, things will cool down considerably for a few days this coming week. Tuesday and Wednesday will likely be the coldest days with daytime highs only in the 40s. After that we will warm back into the 50s and 60s.
 
BTW, don't get all excited about snow. I think some of the TV weather people must be talking about that because I've had lots of people ask me about snow.  We could see a few overnight flurries or snow showers, but nothing that's going to hang around or cause problems.  Most of us in the Greater Akron area won't see anything since the snow activity will generally be limited to the mountains and hilly regions of the northeast and lower Great Lakes.

For the record, the general feeling is that this will likely be the coolest pool of air to drop in until next fall. In other words, live through this and things will be better.

It's SPRING! Is the cold gone?

Lots of people are asking about the cold and snow. There is fear in their minds about "the other shoe dropping" as they say. I'm not so sure there is another show to drop. Perhaps what we have here is a one-legged man.

Consider the fact that the days are getting longer. That means more daily sunshine which will quickly warm the atmostphere. Also, as AccuWeather forecaster Henry Margusity points out today, there is virtually no snow on the ground east of the Rocky Mountains. (See the snow cover map at left.) Generally there is snow on the ground this time of year and that keeps the cold air blowing down from the north cold. It's like a refrigerator affect. Well, with no snow to keep the air masses cool, they will continue to moderate, as they have been, as they move across the upper midwest.

So, I would say, don't sit around nervously awaiting a massive cool down and snow storm.  Yeah, temperatures will likely drop back into the 50s for a few days now and then, but that would just be normal for this time of year.

Relax and Enjoy!

Warm...Warm...Cooler

Map courtesy of AccuWeather

Normal daytime highs for this time of year are in the mid 40s. Well, if you checked out the forecast for the next two weeks, then you know that we are going to be well above that almost every day. The next two weeks look freightenly warm...daytime highs in the upper 50s to upper 60s.  It's kinda scary to see those kind of temperatures this early in the year. I hate to talk about them because I fear I will jinx us. However, there is a change likely as we head into the last week of March. At the moment it appears that we should be heading back to more normal temperatures...at least for the week. Even at that, there is no massive cold outbreak on the horizon.

A mild March is on the way

I must admit that I have been remis in posting on the blog this winter. I've just had a really difficult time getting excited about it. If you enjoy extremes, like most weather people do, then this one has been a sleeper. The only way it's been extreme is in the fact that nothing much has happened. I don't see that changing a lot in the near future.

Let's review February.  We had snow, but no earth-shattering snowstorms to speak of. As for temperatures, we averaged 4.7 degrees above normal at Akron/Canton Airport. 68 was the highest and we got that one thanks to "Leap Day". Our low for the month was 12 on February 11th.

So, what's in stor for March? Not much is going to change. It looks like a few cool days to start things of, but as we get into the 2nd and 3rd weeks, we look for temperatures to average above normal. (The maps below begin on Sunday the 4th so you can project out the 1-5, 6-10, and 11-15 day forecasts.) Our normal daytime high at the beginning of the month is 41. By the time we get to the end of March we should be hitting 53. That's a 12 degree jump in normal during the 31 day period.  So, with temperatures forecast to average near to above normal, you gotta feel pretty good about what is coming up.  To be sure, we will still have some cold days, but as with the previous parts of winter, they will be short-lived.

Enjoy!

(Forecast maps courtesy of AccuWeather)

It's gonna get cold...just for a few days

A cold arctic blast is heading into the state later tonight. Looks like we will probably end up with 2-5 inches of snow on the ground by tomorrow night.  There's some snow out in front of the cold front and then it looks like a bit of lake effect will crank up behind it for tomorrow.  The winds are going to be more northerly than in the past and that could push the snow down below I-76. While temperatures will be below freezing for Saturday and Sunday, we will warm back into the mid 30s on Monday. I still don't see a prolonged period of arctic cold moving into the region during the next 10 days.

Storms coming?

Don't want to get too excited yet, but it's beginning to look like we could start to get some stormy winter weather around mid-month and continuing for a week or two...snow, rain, freezing rain, sleet. Woo hoo!  More later as we get closer and the systems get more defined. May not happen, but right now it's looking kinda positive.

This is NE Ohio, right?

January temperatures ended up 5.5 degrees ABOVE normal for the Greater Akron area. So, if you thought it was warmer than normal (and I think everybody did), you were right.

We had 14" of snow in January at the Akron/Canton Airport. That seems like a lot, but most of it fell between the 19th and 21st and the proceeded to melt within a few days...as did most of the other snow we had. So, it came and went so fast we hardly even noticed.

What about the future?  Looking ahead to the next 10 days I think temperatures will be a bit cooler than this past week, but will remain near or above normal. The normal daytime highs through the middle of the month should be 34 to 37 degrees. And, still...no big snowstorms.

Snowy days return

Looks like the arrival of more winter-type weather will be here to stay for a while.  Temperatures next week will continue to bounce around a bit, but as he head into the last few days of January and the first couple of weeks of February, it appears that the cold will be a bit more sustained.
Thursday
On Thursday a little clipper with a trailing cold front will be sliding through the region.  That system will drop an inch or snow of snow across the region during the day.
Late Friday/Saturday
More significantly will be a second storm system moving through the Great Lakes late Friday.  Snow is expected to begin Friday night and continue into Saturday morning.  We could get a 3-6 inch snowfall out of this system between Friday night and Saturday midday.

Well, that was fun

I remember now what winter is supposed to be like...kinda cold, blowy, and snowy.  For you winter weather fans, the good news is that the weather pattern seems to be changing back to a pattern that will be more suitable for winter weather.  But, major changes are not overnight events,  so the roller coaster will continue for a while yet.  You can expect temperatures the rest of the month to be cold for a few days...then warming up before turning cold again. That's very much what has been happening most of this winter. Eventually, as we head into February and March, a more normal type of winter weather pattern should set up meaning longer cold spells and even some real live snowstorms from time to time.  However, it still looks like most of the heavier winter snows this year will be to our northwest as we expected.

Is Winter just around the corner?

This is AccuWeather's temperature outlook for mid-January.

   Good question.  As the mild weather continues through the middle part of this week, there are signs that a return to more normal winter weather is just around the corner.  Those meteorologists who key in on the upper level atmospherics are seeing lots of changes taking place and we think that is finally going to set us up for more normal winter weather.
   Colder air will move into the area the end of this week. As it does, a period of lake effect snow could set up on Friday, but I think the winds are going to be a bit too westerly for us to get anything morning than a couple of inches if that. Areas along I-90 east of Cleveland may see much more.
   After that, by the middle of next week it looks like the mercury will settle down to daytime highs in the low to mid 30s with an occasional push into the 40s. Along with the colder temperatures then, we should start to see some actual snow systems develop and move through the Great Lakes. Hang in there winter snow enthusiasts. Your day is coming.

A mild January continues

(Map courtesy of AccuWeather)

   The mild weather continues as we head into the 2nd week of the new year. This follows a December that was well above normal.  In December temperatures averaged nearly 6 degrees above what they should have been.  Here in the early part of January our normal daytime highs should be in the lower 30s, so if you are keeping score, you can see that we are continuing above normal.
   It does look like a change in our weather pattern will occur late this coming week or over next weekend. The question remains how long the pattern will last. Will it stay for a couple of weeks or just hang on for a few days and then retreat?  It's too early to tell right now.

Ahhh....Lake Effect

Yeah...lake effect.  You never really know exactly what it's going to do. Looks like it wants a hang around awhile, so we should see snow bands continue across the Portage/Summit area until the evening rush hour. Snowfall will range from 1" to 3" or more where the snow band persist. The snow should end this evening, so the commute tomorrow will be much better than it was today.  (Sorry, kids...no snow day tomorrow.)

Right on track

The snow is right on track.  As expected we got a light coating overnight, but the heaviest is still a little ways off. A synoptic snowfall will move across the area this afternoon dumping another inch or so for everybody, but then during the evening and overnight hours, the winds will shift to the NW and that will kick in the lake effect for the secondary snow belt in northern Portage and Summit counties. By later tonight, those areas should see 4" to 7" of snow on the ground. By morning that total should be 8" to 10". In the areas south of I-76 the snowfall will be lighter with 2" to 4" by later tonight and 3" to 6" by morning.

Snow begins overnight Sunday into Monday

Arctic air will move into the area this afternoon and evening and with that cold air will come strong winds and lake enhanced snow. Initially the winds will be more westerly and that will blow the heaviest snow into the traditional snow belt areas east of Cleveland. By Monday morning we should have a couple of inches on the ground, but as the day progresses the winds will shift more to a northwesterly direction.  That will start to send the snow into the secondary snow belt of northern Portage and Summit counties.  By mid to late afternoon the snowfall rate Monday should be pretty significant. It will still be windy as well, so those of you who live up north will definitely know that winter is here.  The areas south of Akron will enjoy some snowfall, too...just not as much. By Tuesday evening we expect to have 4" to 8" of snow on the ground with the lighter amounts to the south and the heavier amounts up north. Enjoy!