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.