Rain & storms return for the weekend for Columbus area

Expect a few showers, and a few rumbles of thunder very late tonight into the morning hours on Saturday, with lows in the middle 70s.

QUICK WEATHER FORECAST:

• Tonight: Clouds increase, showers & rumbles late, low 74
• Saturday: Rain early, then chance of strong storms later, high 85
• Sunday: Clearing skies, high 80
• Monday: Mainly sunny, high 79
• Tuesday: Mostly sunny, high 89

FORECAST DISCUSSION:

Good Friday Evening,

We will continue to slowly see clouds increase though the evening hours tonight, as a warm front will lift north into the overnight hours, and help keep temps quite warm. Expect a few showers, and a few rumbles of thunder very late tonight into the morning hours on Saturday, with lows in the middle 70s.

Saturday we will have an interesting setup. Expect morning showers, with the best chances north of I-70 to start the day on Saturday. We will see a rush of warm, humid air, moving north into our area through the day. This will help increase the chances of storms with heavy rainfall later in the day. Depending on how much heating we can build late morning to the afternoon, with determine in part how much severe potential we have.

As of now, it does appear that the best timing for severe storms will be mid-late afternoon into the evening, with the highest potential in the NE quadrant in our area (and mostly east-northeast Ohio). With the main threat being strong damaging winds, heavy rain, and lightning. The Storm Prediction Center has our area under a level 2/5, slight risk, of severe storms tomorrow in the PM. They have outlined a very slim chance of a spin up tornado, so that will be something we will continue to monitor.

We will have a chance of additional showers, and non-severe storms overnight into Sunday with the actual cold front. Highs on Saturday will reach into the middle 80s, but temps will be warmer south of I-70, and cooler further north due to rains.

Sunday will see clearing skies behind the front, with temps only climbing up to near 80. Monday high pressure will be in control, with a cool start in the low to mid 50s, and a nice afternoon with highs near 80. More sunshine is expected on Tuesday as the high slowly drifts off to the east, and temps surge to the upper 80s with a few clouds returning.

By Wednesday for Red, White, & Boom, expect hot and humid weather with afternoon scattered storms, and highs in the lower 90s. We should see a decrease in coverage for the evening hours on Wednesday. But rain and storms will return on Thursday for the 4th of July, with highs in the upper 80s. Rain and storm chances will linger into Friday with ongoing unsettled pattern and highs in the upper 80s.

-Dave