It's been awhile

   Yeah, I know I haven't posted anything for quite some time.  There really hasn't been much to say.  We are in a really nice late summer and soon-to-be early fall pattern. I love these warm days in the 70s and the cool overnights. It's so much better than that string of 90s we had over the summer.  Sorry you heat lovers, but I'm not sad to see those go.
   The next couple of weeks don't look too dissimilar to the past few.  Temperatures will continue to fluctuate.  We will have some warm days and some cool ones.  I'm not sure we will hit 80, but will have a few days in the upper 70s at least.
   So, enjoy!  By this time next month we will likely be starting to turn the corner to winter.

Refreshing...I love this

Lake effect clouds over northeast Ohio

   What a refreshing change this is.  A nice cool fall-like air mass has moved into the Great Lakes region replacing that hot 90s.  Of course, the nice thing about the weather this past week was that even though it was hot, it was not humid.  But, this type of air mass is one of my favorites for this time of year. Of course you gotta be careful.  I left all the windows open Friday night, knowing it was going to get cooler, but what the heck.  I did it anyway. So, when I woke up Saturday morning it was 58 degrees outside and 63 inside.  Now, that was a bit too chilly for breakfast, so I had to turn on the furnace for a cycle to warm things up.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed it.
   So, is summer over?  Well, not really, but I don't see any more 90 degree weather heading our way.  We will bounce into the lower 80s this coming week, but then the following week is looking a bit more like fall again.
   This is my favorite time of the year.  I hope you enjoy it as well.

Gads! It feels like early August!

(Graphic courtesy of AccuWeather)

   This is crazy.  Here we are at the end of August and it feels like the beginning of the month. Temperatures this week are going to be among the warmest of the summer. We're looking at potentially 5 consecutive days of 90+ . If you like it, enjoy it because it will come to a quick end this weekend.
   As we head into the Labor Day holiday weekend much cooler air is coming our way. Temperatures will probably just pass 80 degrees on Friday and then daytime highs will drop into the lower 70s for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  We may even see some lake effect showers in NE Ohio on Saturday, but by later Sunday and for Labor Day Monday we should see plenty of sun.
   Enjoy the upcoming holiday weekend!

Another hot one on the way!

   Hopefully you enjoyed the cool last week. I've been busy running around moving the radio station and the weather center to it's third home of the summer so I haven't had time to write much.  At least we get to stay here for a while. Sorry about the absence.
   Anyhow, now that we're back, it's going to get hot again.  Most of this upcoming week will feature temperatures in the upper 80s.  That's about ten degrees above our normal for late August and the beginning of September. Plus, there's no rain in the forecast until Thursday at the earliest.
   As we head into Labor Day weekend a change is gonna come.  High temperatures for the holiday will mostly range between 70 and 75 degrees for the weekend and around 80 for Labor Day Monday. So, it looks like a pleasant weekend coming up...at least here in the Great Lakes.
   If you have any vacation plans that will take you from the Carolinas to the New England coastline, beware that a major hurricane could impact that region over the holiday. You'll want to keep an eye on Hurricane Earl as we head through the later part of the week.
   That's it for now.  Back to work!

15 days and counting

Wow!  This has been an amazing.  As of today (August 18) we have hit 90 degrees or higher 15 days this summer.  I can remember, as I'm sure many of you can, those summers when he never hit 90 even once.  This has been remarkable. So far this month we are averaging +4.3 degrees above normal.  July was +3.0 degrees and June +2.9 degrees. Not a bad summer for those of you who enjoy the heat.

As I mentioned in my Fall and Winter posting, we are looking for a rather mild autumn.  Personally I like that.

BTW...don't look for it to be this hot next summer.  It should be much cooler.

That's it....enjoy!

A look at this Fall and Winter

It's been a very warm summer. June, July, and so far August have averaged about 3 degrees above normal. That's a pretty hot summer! If you are a fan of a nice, easy Fall, you'll like what's coming up. As I mentioned back at the beginning of summer, I think we are going to see a very pleasant Fall season. Temperatures will be above normal through October. In September our daytime highs start out in the upper 70s and drop to the upper 60s by the end of the month.  In October, by the time we get to Halloween, we cool down to daytime highs in the mid 50s. Generally speaking, it should be a pleasant season for outdoor college and high school sports. I think you players and fans will enjoy it.

It looks like sometime around perhaps mid-November we will see a turn to colder temperatures. After that we will get into Winter, but the overview of Winter is not bad.  You may recall that last November was very warm.  Then came December, January, and February where temperatures averaged below normal.  February was particularly brutal averaging 2.8 degrees below the norm. That will not likely be the case this year.  We will have Winter, but not the prolonged weeks upon weeks of cold.

Joe Bastardi is a Senior Forecaster for AccuWeather. Joe has a good handle on the future and you can usually count on what he says is going to happen will happen. Looking over his Winter outlook and translating it into what it means for this region, the lower Great Lakes, I see the following:

 - Temperatures will cool down by late November and remain cold through most of, if not all of,  December.

 - We will see very few major snow storms around the lower Great Lakes the first part of Winter. Locally, we'll have to watch the snow belt area for lake effect because the lake will be very warm following this intense summer heat. When the wind shifts northerly we could have fun.

 - We should see a traditional "January Thaw" then it will be back to Winter.

 - The real heart of Winter weather as we like to imagine it will follow the "January Thaw" and continue through February with cold temperatures and snow storms.

 - While the Winter overall will not be as cold as last year, it will likely be punctuated by radical temperature swings...several days of mild temperatures followed by several days of cold temperatures.

So, there ya go! Not a bad Winter on the way.  It's probably going to be rather typical in most of our minds, it's just going to take a while to get started.

   Meanwhile, enjoy the Fall!

Hot, muggy, and stormy

   Well, I'm back from Streetsboro's Band Camp and riding the weather horse again.  We had a very nice weekend, but the dog days of August will return on Tuesday.  If you are planing anything outdoors, it's simply going to be hot and muggy with showers and thunderstorms from Tuesday through Thursday.  If you have anything you need to do outdoors, I'd wait until Friday if you can.  Friday's gonna be nice...less humid with a high around 80.

   Got to get back into my groove here, but in a few days I'm going to share with you some thoughts about the upcoming winter.  It's good to talk about snow when it's 90 degrees outside, don't you think?  

   Stay cool!