Wind Advisory in Effect

The National Weather Service in Cleveland has issued a Wind Advisory for all of Northeastern Ohio from midnight tonight through 8pm Tuesday. During this time frame, winds may gust to near 40 or 45 mph at times. We will also have some rain, and perhaps a thunderstorm through the early afternoon hours on Tuesday. While any thunderstorms should stay below severe limits, there is a chance that a cell or two may have enhanced gusty winds and some small hail, but no major severe weather is expected. Lows tonight aren’t expected to drop much and bottom out near 55. Tomorrow’s high will be reached in the morning around 59 degrees, then falling to about 50 in the afternoon. Tomorrow night will be cold here in the Mahoning Valley, but right now we will dwell on the warm weather tonight and tomorrow (even though it comes with the price of rain and storms). Have a great evening and stay dry Youngstown!!!

Gloomy and Breezy

Today’s weather will not be as nice as we saw this weekend. Most of the rain this morning has ended, and we should just see a cloudy afternoon, with maybe a few sprinkles or a passing light shower. Highs today will be near 61 degrees. The rain will return later tonight and accompanying that will be some breezy conditions. For your Tuesday, stay up on the latest forecasts as we may see some thunderstorms. While a major severe weather outbreak is not expected, stay tuned for a possible slight risk area for tomorrow. At this time, just general thunderstorms are in the forecast.

SPC Outlooks Launched on Blogroll

As I promised, I have added the Day 1, 2, and 3 Severe Weather Outlooks to the blogroll today. Here’s a brief run-down of how this will work:

On the link, the first thing you will see is the day of the outlook. Next you will see the probability of severe weather for that day. Even if there is a higher risk somewhere in the country, the risk for the Mahoning Valley will be on the link. The following is the guide to understanding the risk.

General – This term is used when thunderstorms are a possibility in the forecast, but widespread severe weather is not expected. Needless to say, there may be an isolated severe cell, but nothing horrible is expected.

Slight- A slight risk is most commonly used when severe weather episodes are not expected, but some severe weather is a definite possibility. Many of the days when “slight” is issued, there aren’t many severe storms – but the storms that do hit those days do become somewhat dangerous. The actual term from the Storm Prediction Center is defined as a 15 – 29 percent chance of severe weather reports within 25 miles of a given point.

Moderate – Moderate risk means that there is a good chance that many locations in the area will experience a severe thunderstorm. The official definition is from 30 – 59% chance of severe weather reports within a 25 mile radius. If a moderate risk is issued, stay on high alert for severe weather that particular day.

High – High risk is when there is a greater than 60 percent chance of severe weather. High risk is only designated a few times in the course of a year, so if we are ever under this risk (which is extremely rare), it is very critical and dangerous weather is expected that particular day.

Use these outlooks to plan your day. Take all the tips from this past severe weather awareness week and use them to your advantage this severe weather season.

For your Sunday night, off and on showers are to be expected, but no heavy rain. Lows tonight will stay in the mid 40s. Showers will continue on Monday, with highs near 60. Yes – I just said SIXTY degrees. The rain won’t last all day, but it will be off and on. Have a great Monday everyone!!!

Rain…and Lots of it!

Once again this week will feature off and on rain showers, and maybe some severe weather. Needless to say, there will be a nice day or two here and there, and temperatures will at least be close to average (Avg for NE OH March 28 is 51 degrees). Monday we may even see temperatures over the 60 degree mark! Spring will really be in full swing this week.

Like I said, we will have to contend with the rain, and perhaps quite a bit in the early part of your upcoming workweek. For your Saturday evening though, the sunny skies will prevail, leading the way to clear skies for the overnight and lows near 28. Skies will be mostly cloudy for your Sunday, with a chance of showers as the day progresses. The rain will be more likely Sunday night into Monday. Sunday’s high will be near 50 degrees. Enjoy the wonderful weather this evening Youngstown and have a great Sunday!

Your last severe weather tip deals with severe weather awareness. Now is the time to plan and prepare for severe weather! Make a disaster ready kit. Every family should also have an evacuation plan in place and know what to do should severe weather be imminent. A disaster kit should contain a flashlight, batteries, food and water, and first aid supplies. Know where to go if severe weather threatens. It is very important to do these actions now before the severe weather hits. Please stay safe this severe weather season Youngstown. At Youngstown WeatherWATCH, our main goal is to keep you informed and ahead of all severe weather that will impact the area this spring and summer.

As I mentioned this week, I was going to begin putting the individual Day 1, 2 and 3 severe weather outlooks on my blogroll. I actually am planning on starting that tomorrow. Look in the blogroll section tomorrow morning and next to each day I will highlight the severe weather risk for Mahoning County for that particular day. The link will bring you to the particular outlook issued by the Storm Prediction Center.

Spring will Arrive

After reaching 100 inches of snow for the winter season, and remaining cold for the first week of spring, we might actually see something resembling spring this weekend and even into the week ahead. Saturday’s weather looks beautiful with sunny skies and temperatures in the lower 40s. We will see off and on rain showers and even the chance of some thunderstorms into next week and temperatures will be near 60 next week. We will go into that a little later as we get closer. However, we do need to get through a very cold night tonight with lows near 20 tonight. Stay warm!

Our severe weather awareness tip this week deals with lightning. Lightning does not define a “severe weather event” but it is a component of every thunderstorm. An average of over 450,000 lightning strikes occur in Ohio each year (based on ‘96-’05 averages). Many people don’t think they can’t be struck by lightning when there is no rain. Actually, as long as you can hear thunder, you can be struck by lightning, even if there is no rain falling. The best advice is when you hear thunder….SEEK SHELTER! Avoid being the tallest object in an area and never take refuge under a tree. Over 400 people die due to lightning injuries each year in the U.S. alone. Stay safe this storm season Youngstown!!

Mixed Precip Tonight

After surviving another day without rain, we will see the precipitation begin to spread eastward late this evening and overnight. The majority of the precipitation will be rain, but there may be a period of sleet or freezing rain in there somewhere. After tomorrow morning, however, any precip will change to all snow and we may see an inch, but that’s about it. Lows tonight will be near 32 degrees, and highs tomorrow won’t be much greater than that – about 36 at best.

Our severe weather awareness week feature today will be tornado safety. Even though we don’t get many tornadoes in this part of Ohio, the state itself averages about 16 tornadoes in a given year. The best thing to do if a tornado warning is issued, or if a tornado is cited the best place to be is in the lowest level of your home (basement). If that is unavailable, an inner closet or bathtub is best. If outdoors, DO NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER AN OVERPASS. The winds create a column underneath the bridge and sometimes makes the effect larger than actual. Also, if the bridge collapses, you are pieces! The best place to be if you are caught outside is in a ditch. Please stay safe this severe weather season. At Youngstown WeatherWATCH, our #1 priority is keeping you safe and informed of severe weather!

More Rain

We saw a nice day today, and so now we must pay by seeing a rainy Thursday. Highs will be near 45. There may be a brief period of snow in the morning or evening, but no major accumulations are expected.

Your severe weather info for today deals with outlooks. Beginning on April 1st (Tuesday) I will begin to put in the blogroll the Storm Prediction Center’s Day 1, 2, and 3 outlooks. Day 1 is always the day it actually is (If today was Wednesday, day 1 would be Wed, 2 would be Thu, and 3 would be Fri). Next to the day would be the risk for OUR AREA, even though the outlook is national. These outlooks specify the possibility of severe weather on that specific day.  Slight is the lowest probability (but most common) and that there is a 15 – 29% chance that an area within 25 miles of a given point. Moderate risk means 30 – 45% chance. Even though this number seems low, the big storms we saw last year were in moderate risk days, because high risk is only issued for tornado outbreaks. Once again, these will begin to be posted on my blogroll on Tuesday.

Rainy Night

After seeing decent weather this morning, the clouds have rolled in and the rain will overspread the region this afternoon and evening. No extremely heavy rain is expected, but some showers certainly are expected. Any rain will change to snow overnight, but little accumulation is expected. However, the biggest story is by far the windy conditions. Expect winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts to 40 this evening. The winds will tame tonight to around 15 mph.  As for your Wednesday, we should see partly cloudy skies with temperatures near 46 degrees.

I forgot the Severe Weather Awareness tip yesterday, so today I will have two. The first deals with weather watches. The Storm Prediction Center out of Norman, OK issues severe thunderstorm and tornado watches. When either of these are issued, it means that there is the potential for severe weather; that conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms and/or tornadoes. When one of these are issued, all persons in the threatened area are urged to keep an extra watch to the outdoor conditions.

Now for today’s information: warnings. Recently, the National Weather Service changed the way they issue warnings. It used to be by county. If a thunderstorm was moving into Mahoning county, the whole county would go under a warning. Now, the weather service only issues the warnings for the particular part of the county where the storm will impact. This way, those whose area is not affected by the storm will not be warned for it. When a warning is issued for your area, you are advised to seek shelter immediately because severe weather has been reported or is imminent.

Breezy and Gloomy Tuesday

After seeing a little sun amidst the clouds this afternoon, expect a gloomy day on Tuesday with snow showers in the morning, changing to rain in the afternoon. There shouldn’t be much in the way of accumulation though. Wednesday doesn’t look too bad but there will definitely be some concerns later in the week (Thursday and Friday). I won’t dwell on that today though and I will let everyone enjoy the rest of your Monday.

Unsettled Week of Rain and Snow

As is always the case in Northeast Ohio right around the change of seasons from Winter into Spring, we will see a wide variety of weather to impact the region this week. As for your Monday afternoon, expect mostly cloudy and cool conditions. Highs will only make it into the mid 30s. Skies will clear out tonight as lows bottom out near 22. I will release my forecast for tomorrow as the latest model runs come in this afternoon, but if you’re looking for nice and sunny weather – don’t look to this forecast. Have a good afternoon.