As Cleveland braces for a chilly weekend, high pressure from the west is slated to dictate weather patterns through Sunday before shifting northeast early next week. The National Weather Service in Cleveland points to a possibility of low pressure affecting the region mid to late next week, which may bring changes to the currently expected conditions.
For today and moving through Sunday, the west-northwest flow is ushering in cold air aloft, resulting in isolated to scattered lake effect rain showers, especially across far northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania. These showers should dissipate by mid to late Sunday morning as dry air aloft builds in, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service in Cleveland. On the temperature front, residents can expect readings 1-2 degrees Celsius below normal, potentially extending the current freeze warning to additional counties, despite lake effect cloud cover potentially impacting the eastern reaches of the advisory area.
Looking ahead to the short term, from Sunday night through Tuesday, the National Weather Service predicts chilly temperatures will remain with highs in the mid-50s and lows in the low to mid-30s. Frost and freeze conditions may become more widespread if the growing season persists, with a clear forecast not suggesting any precipitation until possibly mid-week.
The long-term forecast is hinting at a closed low-pressure system potentially giving the area a glancing blow of precipitation with a 30-40% chance of showers. This, alongside the prevailing cool airmass, means the region's highs are expected to stay low, in the low to mid 50s, and lows in the mid 30s, which is expected to bring lake effect rain over the weekend, particularly in Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania.
Marine forecasts reveal a ridge impacting Lake Erie through Sunday with W'ly to NW'ly winds gradually veering to NE'ly, and waves anticipated to remain at 3 feet or less. However, conditions could become increasingly choppy from Sunday night into mid-week, with waves potentially reaching heights of 4 to 8 feet, primarily in the western and central basins, which may lead to the need for a Small Craft Advisory as noted by the National Weather Service.
