The 30s return for another day with some sudden thunderstorms, but sunshine, pleasant temperatures and lower humidity soon return.
THURSDAY: Partly cloudy, hot, humid, isolated sudden afternoon thunderstorms, high 90.
TONIGHT: Scattered showers/thunderstorms, low 21°C.
FRIDAY: Early rain in the east, clouds, then sun, high 83.
SATURDAY: Mostly sunny, high 78.
SUNDAY: Mostly sunny, high 78.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny, high 80.
TUESDAY: Mostly sunny, high 83.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny, high 30 °C.
Good Thursday morning! The National Weather Service in Cleveland has confirmed two EF1 tornadoes so far from Tuesday’s storms. One tornado was 8.4 miles on the ground and the other was 17 miles long. That brings Ohio’s tornado count for the year to 67 and continues to set the bar for the most tornadoes in Ohio in a year. Additional storm investigations will continue today.
Central Ohio wakes up to partly cloudy skies and temperatures around 65 degrees. A light east wind will blow today, and temperatures will climb to a high of 32 degrees in the afternoon with a mix of sun and clouds. There are several factors at play in Central Ohio today. First, Tropical Storm Debby is moving north over South Carolina. This will bring some moisture to our region as Debby continues to move north. Additionally, a cold front is moving east over Iowa that will move across Ohio tonight. Additionally, we have a low pressure system that will linger over Ohio today. This low pressure system will be a weak spot in the atmosphere, helping to bring scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon while temperatures rise to muggy highs around 90 degrees. I’m predicting a 40 percent chance of rain today, as rain will be scattered and mostly linear along this low pressure system. The location of this low appears to be generally along the I-71 corridor during the afternoon, moving southwest to northeast across the state. So the greatest chance of rain will be along the I-71 corridor, with less chance of rain in northwest and southeast Ohio. Once the sun goes down, the scattered rain is expected to slowly taper off and dissipate. In short, today will be hot and humid, with scattered showers and thunderstorms moving in during the afternoon and evening.
Tropical Storm Debby will continue to move more rapidly northward overnight, across Virginia and into eastern Pennsylvania. The western limit of Debby’s rain will pass very close to eastern Ohio. Clouds will build early in Ohio on Friday, with morning temperatures around 21 degrees and possible rain in eastern Ohio. Debby will continue to move north-northeast on Friday, and any rain in Ohio will quickly clear. Early clouds will give way to sunshine as a high pressure system moves in from the west. A brisk northwest breeze is expected Friday, as temperatures warm to a high of 28 degrees. Humidity will be high in the morning, but will continue to drop throughout the day, making the evening cool and crisp.
The weekend is looking fantastic for Central Ohio! Morning lows will drop to the mid 50s and then we’ll warm up to highs in the 78s each day under mostly sunny skies. It’s going to be a great weekend to open the windows in the house and turn off the air conditioning. Next week we’ll continue our dry and sunny pattern. Our temperatures will slowly rise next week as we start the week with a high of 80 on Monday and warm up to the mid 80s by the end of the week. Have a great weekend!
Andrew Buck Michael, meteorologist.
