Ohio Winter Strikes: Snow Starting To Fall, Businesses Closing

In classic Ohio weather fashion, a respite of warm weather will be followed by a brutal winter storm that could dump as much as 9 inches of snow between Friday night and Saturday morning. As temperatures start to drop on Friday evening, rainfall will turn to ice before the precipitation becomes snow. That will make driving conditions particularly harrowing.

The National Weather Service has already issues a winter storm watch for Northeast Ohio. " The strength and track of the low pressure center remains uncertain but there is the potential for some ice accumulation along with several inches of snow," the agency said.

The winter storm follows on the heels of a brief three-day warm-up that melted patches of snow and ice in Greater Cleveland. Some communities will deal with minor flooding issues through Friday afternoon, before the weather turns cold.

For Northeast Ohioans, the cold weather couldn't come at a worse time. Three days of gradually warming temperatures, peaking out in the mid-50s, will end before a holiday weekend. Now, residents will have a possible three-day weekend spoiled by heavy snowfall and icy driving conditions.

The snow should start to taper off on Sunday. Temperatures will return to single-digits on Saturday and Sunday, but will start to rise again on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Temperatures should crawl into the low-20s on Monday.

A detailed day-by-day forecast is available below.

Friday January 12

Mixed precipitation (6–9 in. of snow) throughout the day and breezy starting in the evening. High 53, low 21.
Chance of precipitation: 91%. Wind 10 mph from the NNW

Saturday January 13

Foggy overnight. High 20, low 12.
Chance of precipitation: 27%. Wind 16 mph from the NNW

Sunday January 14

Foggy in the morning. High 17, low 6.
Chance of precipitation: 6%. Wind 2 mph from the WSW

Monday January 15

Snow (< 1 in.) starting in the afternoon, continuing until evening. High 26, low 8.
Chance of precipitation: 13%. Wind 10 mph from the SSE

Data provided by darksky.net.

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