Residents of Columbus, Cincinnati, Wilmington, and beyond can expect a touch of warmth today, thanks to the southerly flow that's expected to bump up the mercury, as reported by the National Weather Service Wilmington Ohio. However, don't get too comfortable in your spring jackets as a cold front sweeping southeast across the region tonight signals a swift return to brisker temperatures come Sunday. But fear not, for the nip in the air is brief with a forecasted shift to milder conditions through next week.
For those setting foot outdoors this Saturday, high and mid-level clouds will be your ceiling but not your barrier, with dry conditions encouraging some outdoor ventures, despite an ever-tightening pressure gradient as the day presses on—it's going to be breezy folks, gusts could hit up to 35 mph according to the National Weather Service, "temperatures will also moderate with highs today ranging from the mid 40s north to the lower 50s in the far south."
The evening will bring the cold front's passage, and while it won't deliver rain, expect it to sweep in more mid-level clouds along with a cooler air that's tagging along for a Sunday demeanor. Overnight lows will sag to the lower 20s in parts northwest, hovering around the freezing mark in southeastern locales. Sunday itself proffers plenty of sunshine, though it'll do little against the chill, with highs stubbornly anchored in the low 30s up north, and slightly less stingy upper 30s down south.
Looking ahead, as per the affable folks at the NWS, Sunday night ushers in surface high pressure right over our heads, paving for a decidedly warmer week with "pseudo-zonal flow aloft" keeping it real across the Ohio Valley. Thursday anticipates the week's peak warmth, expect the thermostat to flirt with the lower 60s—a pleasant anomaly for the season, but we're not complaining. There may be a few scattered showers early in the week and again midweek as "disturbances move east through the flow aloft," but all signs point to these being nothing more than a couple of fleeting rain events in what's otherwise a notably balmy December stretch.
For the aviators among us, wind advisories hold sway today with southerly gusts in the 30-knot range till the front slides through later in the evening. The word from the NWS forecasts a dip in wind speeds to roughly 10 knots and a directional shuffle to west-northwest. VFR conditions will reign through the aviation forecast period, with the caveat of potential MVFR/IFR ceilings as we slide into the early parts of next week.
