Getting errands done before our winter storm

I spent the day yesterday running around and shopping for stuff before the winter storm arrives for us. 

If you still need to take care off some errands, DO IT TODAY!

Damp today with rain showers and temps in the 40s. Rain quickly changing to snow tonight with light accumulations and wet surfaces refreezing then dangerously cold with very high winds.

Good Thursday morning! The entire area is covered in different winter/wind advisories/watches/warnings. They all boil down to this: rain this evening will refreeze for a layer of ice under light/moderate accumulations of snow that will fall mainly before daybreak tomorrow. The advisories/watches/warnings continue through Friday into Saturday because we will have dangerously cold temperatures and wind chills. Wind chills could dip as cold as -30 Friday and Saturday AM. Any unnecessary travel should be avoided Friday into Saturday when the roads will be the most treacherous and exposed skin could experience frostbite in less than 15 minutes.

Today our temperatures are starting in the mid 30s and some rain showers are moving in from the south. A few pockets of freezing rain could occur in the colder pockets, but we will continue to warm up into the lower 40s today with some spotty light rain and cloudy skies. Rain will pick up this evening and a very strong cold front will blast in from the west just before midnight. The latest projections have the rain changing to snow a little before midnight tonight for Central Ohio and then continuing into Eastern Ohio just after midnight. Wet surfaces will refreeze to ice and we will then coat those icy surfaces with snow. The snow will be the heaviest between midnight and daybreak Friday and that will be the bulk of our snow accumulations. Most of Central Ohio will see 1”-3” of snow with higher totals to the north and lower totals to the south. We could also see some lake effect snow for far Northern Ohio to add to the totals for Friday PM and Saturday. Keep in mind that the strong winds will blow the snow all around, so it will not be a snow that falls and stays in one place. The wind will cause reduced visibility all of Friday and Saturday due to the blowing snow. Winds will be out of the west-southwest so north-southbound roads will see the worst drifting of snow Friday and Saturday. Then we are dry the rest of the 7-day forecast and partly cloudy next week.

While the snow is exciting before Christmas, the bitterly cold temperatures will be more impactful and dangerous. We will go from around 40 tonight at midnight to -1 by daybreak tomorrow and only have a high of 4 degrees tomorrow afternoon. Winds will pick up when we change over to snow and continue to strengthen through the day Friday. So wind chills will be around -20 to -25 all of Friday through Saturday morning. Take this serious because frostbite is a big concern. Please also keep pets in mind. We will stay around 0 for the Saturday morning’s low temperature and warm to a high of 10 on Saturday. Staying cloudy on Saturday with the blowing snow. Winds will be slowly becoming lighter by later Saturday.

Sunday we start around 4 in the morning and warm to 16 with partly cloudy skies and a brisk breeze. 

Monday we warm to 22 for the high and 30 by Tuesday. Staying partly cloudy the first half of next week with 37 by Wednesday. We may be into the 50s by the end of next week! Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael