Columbus started Monday, April 27 on a cool, muggy note, with temperatures near 48°F at John Glenn Columbus International Airport. That chill will not stick around. Sunshine and a southeast breeze of 6 to 13 mph will help push readings into the upper 70s this afternoon, with a high near 79°F expected. The quiet, almost summerlike day, though, is just the warmup act for storms that move in late tonight.
Storms Tonight Into Early Tuesday
The main line of showers and thunderstorms is expected late Monday night, roughly between 11 p.m. Monday, April 27 and 3 a.m. Tuesday, April 28, with the biggest impacts coming while most people are trying to sleep. A few storms could become strong to severe, with damaging wind gusts and brief heavy rainfall. Localized rainfall totals of a quarter to a half inch are possible, according to the National Weather Service.
Tuesday And The Rest Of The Week
Tuesday, April 28 stays on the warm side, with a high near 75°F, but the atmosphere does not really settle down. Scattered showers and a few thunderstorms are possible during the day, and a more widespread round is on tap Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
Wednesday looks like the soggiest day of this stretch, with a half to three-quarters of an inch of rain possible before drier, cooler air finally pushes in for the latter half of the week. We first flagged this active setup in our April 22 outlook, and this update mainly tightens the timing for the Monday night storms — you can revisit that earlier forecast on pop-up storms poised to soak Columbus commute.
Impact And What To Do
If you have outdoor plans this evening, line up a backup plan indoors and be ready to head inside quickly once showers and storms approach. Drivers out late tonight or early Tuesday should watch for brief visibility drops in heavier downpours, slow down, and allow extra stopping distance on wet roads.
Before the sun goes down, secure patio furniture, trash bins, and other lightweight items so they do not become projectiles in stronger gusts. It is also a good time to double-check that emergency alerts are enabled on your phone so you will be notified if any warnings are issued overnight.
