The National Weather Service has predicted scattered showers and storms for today, primarily ahead of a slow-moving cold front. Drier conditions are expected to follow into Sunday, leading to a stretch of seasonably mild weather through the first half of the upcoming workweek, as confirmed in their recent area forecast discussion.
With thunderstorms already moving northeast and away, a residual band of showers is set to slowly creep into the eastern parts of Indiana and western Ohio in the early hours. However, most locales, especially those near or east of Interstate 71, may see little to no precipitation until daybreak, according to the analysis shared by the National Weather Service. Moisture will continue streaming into the region through the morning, with showers and thunderstorms expected to intensify and expand in coverage by late morning and into early afternoon, mostly south of the I-71 corridor.
While the storms will draw from ample atmospheric moisture, the mild mid-level temperatures and lack of robust thermodynamic conditions mean that the severity of the thunderstorms remains uncertain. The National Weather Service notes that "very isolated instances of strong to damaging winds" may occur, but underscores that most areas will likely not experience severe weather. This caveat, nonetheless, does not dismiss the possibility of a cluster of stronger storms developing, particularly near and southeast of a line from Ohio County, Indiana, to Hocking County, Ohio, and notably across northern and northeastern Kentucky.
Post-sunset, the storm's intensity and coverage are both forecasted to wane, with a few isolated to scattered showers lingering near Interstate 71 close to midnight as the front makes its southward descent, after which drier conditions will emerge, ranging from the cooler upper 50s in western Ohio to the stickier upper 60s in northeastern Kentucky and south-central Ohio due to persistent cloudiness and low-level moisture, however, as the front cuts through, a noticeable temperature gradient is anticipated.
Looking ahead into the week, clear skies early Sunday will soon be repopulated by clouds and the possibility of very light showers by the afternoon, especially near or north of the Ohio River, due to a secondary frontal passage, with daytime highs reaching into the mid to upper 70s, forecasts from the National Weather Service indicate a relative calm weather-wise with a northwesterly flow ushering in cooler, drier air and overnight temperatures sinking to the 50s for Sunday night and potentially into the 40s by Monday night.
As the drought conditions worsen across the Ohio Valley, the drier pattern holds through most of the workweek. However, temperatures might climb slightly above normal with a subtle high-pressure ridge midweek. The return of potential showers or storms could be on the horizon by Friday, according to potential shifts in an upper-level trough descending from Canada, a point of uncertainty where forecasters at the National Weather Service reserve higher probability forecasts for closer to the date.
For aviation interests, VFR (Visual Flight Rules) conditions will hold outside of active showers or thunderstorms throughout the daytime, with MVFR (Marginal Visual Flight Rules) ceilings and visibility possibly setting in as the frontal boundary presses southward, with accompanying indications of variable winds initially shifting westerly during the day and tending northerly as Sunday morning approaches, according to the National Weather Service's aviation forecast.
