Two more warm days before the wind and rain arrives for the weekend. Strong storms possible as well this weekend.

THURSDAY: Partly cloudy, stray PM rain south, high 72.
TONIGHT: Total lunar eclipse, partly cloudy, patchy fog, cool, low 48.
FRIDAY: Partly to mostly cloudy, high 77.
SATURDAY – ALERT DAY: Sctd. rain & storms, windy, high 76.
SUNDAY: Rain, especially early, windy, high 60.
MONDAY: Partly cloudy, high 52.
TUESDAY: Partly cloudy, high 67.
WEDNESDAY: Partly cloudy, chance for rain, high 66.

Good Thursday morning! Another cool morning with temps around 40, but even cooler to the north with temps in the lower 30s. There is a stationary front parked near I-70, so that is why it is so much cooler to the north. Partly cloudy skies today with very light winds out of the southeast. We warm to a high around 72 today, which is the same high temperature as yesterday. Northern Ohio will only have high temps in the 50s or 60s because of that stationary front. There is a slight chance for a few isolated showers trying to pop up this afternoon/evening for the southern half of Ohio. It is only about a 30% chance of rain, so most of the area will remain dry.

Partly cloudy tonight with a total lunar eclipse happening, with the moon passing in the earth’s shadow. The partial eclipse begins at 1:09AM for Central Ohio with totality starting at 2:26AM. Maximum eclipse will occur at 2:58AM and the total eclipse starts to end at 3:31AM. By 4:47AM the partial eclipse will be ending. Again, we will be partly cloudy, so there may be a few clouds blocking the view, but a lot of Central Ohio should be able to view the eclipse tonight. Overnight temps will be cool as we drop to a low around 48. We may also have some patchy fog forming in the low-lying areas.

Friday will be a very warm and breezy day. We will be partly cloudy most of the day with more clouds later. We will warm to a high around 77, for the new warmest day of the year. Winds will be out of the southeast 10-15 mph.

Then we get to the warm, wet, and windy weekend. Saturday will be an ALERT DAY for the potential for gusty storms later in the day. Saturday morning will bring the chance for rain showers with temps in the upper 50s in the morning. We will get a break in the rain midday as temps surge into the mid 70s. Winds will be gusting 40+ mph, outside of the rain & storms. Stronger storms then are likely to start forming in the afternoon, evening, and overnight. A couple waves of storms are possible. Strong damaging winds will be the main concern for the severe weather. One key thing to keep an eye on is how much morning rain Central Ohio experiences because the less morning rain will mean stronger storms later in the day. So stay weather aware later Saturday. Lingering rain for Sunday, especially the first half of the day. We will still have gusty winds on Sunday, 30+ mph possible. Temperatures Sunday will start around 54, but only warm to a high around 60.

Drier weather to start next week. Monday will be cooler, with a high around 52, and partly cloudy skies. Decent weather for St. Patrick’s Day. Tuesday, we warm to 67 with partly cloudy skies. Similar temperatures on Wednesday with a slight chance for rain returning. Temps then are likely to take another dip later next week. Have a good one!

Andrew Buck Michael, Meteorologist.