Ohio Winter Weather Forecast for January, Early February

CLEVELAND, OH — Don’t pack away your hats, mittens, scarves and other must-haves in the Ohio winter weather preparedness kit. It may feel like spring, but it isn’t.

Forecasters with AccuWeather.com have released an updated winter weather forecast for the rest of January and early February in Ohio.The weather is expected to be unseasonably warm over the next couple of weeks as mild Pacific air travels to Ohio. Surface winds will prevent cold air, often called a polar vortex effect, from traveling from Canada to Ohio.

Maybe. As most weather services do, AccuWeather hedged its outlook.

"There are some indications that the polar vortex may weaken enough to allow a southward discharge of arctic air prior to the end of the month," AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelo said in a news release. “Even in cases when there is certainty about the weakening of the polar vortex, you never know for sure where the discharge of cold air will be directed, such as western versus eastern U.S.”

As the month ends, the eastern part of the United States is expected to trend colder and stormier. “But the question is how much,” Pastelok said.

In Cleveland, temperatures could be above 50 on both Saturday and Sunday, the National Weather Service said. AccuWeather says the mercury won’t dip below freezing again until Thursday, Jan. 26. The first few days of February look to be icy and snowy.

A major winter storm setting up over the Central states next week is expected to affect a large swath from Flagstaff, Arizona, to as far north as Minneapolis, Minnesota, AccuWeather said.
But it looks like it will miss Ohio.

Photo by Erik Drost via Flickr Commons