Residents across the southern half of Cleveland are advised to stay weather-aware today as low pressure sweeps through the region, bringing a mix of wintery precipitation this afternoon and evening. The National Weather Service in Cleveland has issued a Winter Weather Advisory starting at 1 PM, signaling disruptions across various counties until 1 AM EST Sunday, or for some areas, until 7 AM EST Sunday.
According to the National Weather Service forecast, snow, sleet, and freezing rain will hit different parts of the area, with snow most likely to affect the northern fringes and a prolonged period of freezing rain in the south. The NWS warns to rapidly expect increased precipitation from early afternoon as "isentropic lift ahead of the low will allow precipitation chances to rapidly increase from the southwest." However, the wintery mix will gradually transition to snow by nightfall as cold air follows the low's eastward track.
Ice accumulation forecasts have shifted slightly, focusing more inland from the lakeshore. Areas like Wyandot County through Wayne County might see up to two-tenths of an inch of ice. There's also an "outside chance of locally higher ice accumulations to a quarter inch or more," as per NWS, though confidence in exact locations for these higher accumulations remains low. Winds are expected to pick up, gusting to 20 mph later tonight, possibly causing additional issues with branches and power lines.
Snow and sleet accumulations are projected to be under an inch at inland locations, with higher amounts of 3 to 5 inches in places like Ashtabula and Erie County due to lingering lake effect snow into Sunday. In the face of these conditions, the NWS cautions that "the Winter Weather Advisory will end at 12Z Sunday for the snowbelt of NE OH/NW PA." As the high-pressure system builds east across the region on Sunday, drier weather is expected to return.
Looking ahead, another series of systems is set to cross the area Tuesday and late Wednesday. Temperatures will remain below normal, with highs mainly in the upper 20s to lower 30s and lows in the teens early next week. The forecast points towards a potentially more impactful system later in the week, with the possibility of significant precipitation and another round of challenging travel conditions.
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