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!