Once again we caught a few rays of sunshine during the afternoon…that just makes the day so much better, and it did drive the temperature up into the lower 40s. There is an area of scattered showers to the southwest lifting up towards the Tri-state, and we could see a few showers this evening and overnight. As temperatures cool off to freezing or just below, we cannot rule out areas of light freezing rain – mainly west of the metro late tonight and during the morning hours of Thursday. Otherwise it still looks mainly cloudy with chances for rain showers through the day with continued mild temperatures. Rain will become likely Thursday night as Santa takes to his sleigh; heavy downpours could add up to an inch in the rain gauge as we head in Christmas morning with winds starting to howl too. Christmas day will be quite an interesting day of weather, heavy rains will pull out early, and then we will see breezy and mild conditions into early afternoon with a chance for rain showers, and then temperatures will drop off quickly late in the day with rain mixing with and eventually changing over to snow after nightfall. Things will settle down some into the weekend, but temperatures will continue to fall and the winds will still probably be blowing. Flurries and light snow showers will fall on both Saturday and Sunday with accumulations limited to about an inch or so, but for most spots it will just be the ground coaters that we have quickly become familiar with. Light snow should wind down next week on Monday, and even though we expect to stay dry Tuesday and Wednesday it will probably stay cold with highs stuck in the 30s and overnight lows close to 20 degrees. There could be another weather system late in the week trying to bring snow back to the area…we’ll cross that bridge as it approaches though. Stay tuned!

The clouds have quickly filled back in after a few peeks of sun Tuesday afternoon, and we are watching an area of rain and a wintry mix across the southern half on Indiana as it drifts our way. It is being undercut by a dry east wind and the thinking is that a lot of this rain/mix will break up as it approaches Cincinnati…so other than a light shower or light wintry mix across Southeastern Indiana, it just looks cloudy overnight. As we head through Wednesday expect a full plate of cloud cover and possibly a few rain showers as a big storm system gathers strength in the Midwest. This big storm will move in on Thursday and really kick up the wind, but we are going to stay on the warm side of this one so any heavy precipitation is going to fall as rain and not snow. Any Christmas eve/Christmas day travel plans that involve the Midwest though will surely be interrupted by heavy snow and ice, and there will be a lot of airport delays and cancellations in the area too. Heavy rain and strong winds could swing through the Tri-state Thursday night, so Santa will need a windshield and raincoat, and rain will probably continue into Friday morning. The latest computer model information then suggests that we will pull in some dry air Friday before a cold front swing through during the afternoon rapidly dropping temperatures which could lead to a wintry mix and/or some snow late in the day. The weekend looks cold and a bit snowy, high temperatures on Saturday and Sunday will struggle to hit 30 degrees, so even though the snow is expected to be light, it should stick and possibly add up to about an inch of accumulation. Light snow could continue into Monday before skies dry up and warm up a little too for Tuesday and Wednesday. Stay tuned!

It is officially winter now in case you missed it, the winter solstice occurred at 12:47 pm this afternoon – and how typical a winter day is this with the classic low clouds just locked in overhead. It is weather like this that leads to seasonal adjusted disorder…when people get depressed because the sun never shines. I hate to say it, but learn to love the clouds because we don’t expect any sunshine until late in the week when a powerful storm system is going to develop and stir up the skies enough to provide a few sunny peeks between the rain and snow showers…not really what we are hoping for though I’m sure. One thing we will have to watch for is the possibility of a light wintry mix or freezing drizzle up around the I-70 corridor tonight and tomorrow as a weak impulse scoots through the atmosphere, that’s really just nuisance weather more than anything else because even if it does develop it will probably stay very light. For the most part it just looks cloudy and quiet until late on Wednesday when that big storm system will start to approach, and in the temperature department we have a little good news in that there should be a gentle trend upward. We’ll mention a small chance for rain Wednesday, and a better chance Thursday, but the brunt of this system looks like it will be seen off to our northwest now with heavy snow and freezing rain a definite possibility back towards St. Louis and up around Chicago. Heavy rains could affect the Tri-state late Thursday and into Christmas morning, and then a real strong cold front swings through with little moisture left to work with – so at this point any snow should stay light keeping our chance for a white Christmas in the slim to none category. A fresh blast of cold Canadian air will be felt on Saturday and Sunday with flurries and light snow showers, but anything more than a ground coating looks unlikely though. The early call on next week is a little more interesting, by Tuesday and Wednesday we may be tracking a storm system moving in from the west with the potential for accumulating snow – however that far out I wouldn’t get those hopes up too high snow lovers. We’ll keep you posted, stay tuned!

Those cloudy skies are already spitting out a few snowflakes this evening, and snow is going to pick up overnight with an Alberta clipper moving through. This clipper could be good for up to an inch of snow accumulation just in time for Monday morning’s commute, so you may want to plan ahead to allow a little extra time to get to work. Appropriate for the first day of winter – right? Winter officially begins on Monday at 12:47pm. Temperatures will barely dip into the 20s overnight, so the roads should still be wet and slushy, but not quite as wet and easy to drive on as they were with Saturday’s snowfall. Snow will wind down Monday morning, and we expect afternoon temperatures to climb into the upper 30s, so it will probably all melt away again. Tuesday and Wednesday will just be cloudy days for the most part as another big storm system develops off to our southwest. The latest long-range computer model information is trending warmer for the Ohio Valley, so at this point we’ll say there is only a slight chance for a wintry mix to develop in the region as this storm gets going late Wednesday and Thursday morning, and most of this system is going to fall as a big surge of rain during the day on Thursday. The cold front swings through on Friday Christmas morning, and Christmas looks like a light rain to light snow day with falling temperatures and a whole lot of wind too. On/off snow showers, cold temperatures and wind chills will probably be the story for Saturday and Sunday with little or no accumulation resulting from that wrap-around snow. The very early call on next week will be for a dry start along with a warming trend. Stay tuned!

We are now advisory, watch and warning free here in the Tri-State, but light snow will continue into the over night and we are not free of any weather-related hazards just yet. Any additional snow accumulation will be light and hardly measurable, but the snowmelt during the day has resulted in low clouds and we could have thick fog overnight along with slick spots on the roads due to temperatures dropping into the 20s…so be careful out there. Sunday will bring a brief break in the action before an Alberta Clipper-type system rolls in Sunday night packing another round of snow for the Tri-State. This could be another one of those bad-timing light weather events with an inch of snow possibly falling right before the Monday morning commute into work, and this quick-mover will probably depart Monday afternoon. We will have a chance to breathe easy Tuesday and Wednesday with generally cloudy skies and temperatures stuck in the 30s, and then another big storm system is forecast to develop over the Southern US and move into the Ohio Valley on Wednesday night. This storm could bring a little bit of everything with a wintry mix possibly changing over to rain through Thursday, and then rain and a mix back over to snow as we head through Christmas Day Friday. Specific details such as timing and precipitation type will be tough to pin down until a day or two before it arrives so we won’t exhaust ourselves trying to do that right now, but just know there could be a big one coming that could affect travel plans in the region. On the back side of this storm light snow could persist for a couple days as we head into next weekend with another monster shot of cold air looking to move into the Ohio Valley for the last week of 2009. That could result in the coldest temperatures we have seen so far this winter season…brrrrrr. Stay tuned!

Well here it comes friends, the first big winter storm of the season moves in tonight. This storm will get started as rain, with the changeover to snow not happening until about midnight or so for most of us, and then it’s all snow until it winds down late Saturday night and into Sunday morning. With overnight lows only down to 30 tonight and temperatures steady in the lower 30s through the day on Saturday the snow should stay fairly wet and slushy – perfect for making a snowman or a snowball fight! By the time snow winds down late Saturday night temperatures will dip into the mid 20s, and this is when we expect roads to get slick, especially those that do not get treated. As far as snowfall totals, through the Cincinnati metro, it will probably be a 2-4 inch snowfall with lesser amounts across eastern Indiana where it may only end up being an inch of snow, and there will be much higher snowfall totals south and east where 6+ inches could be seen as close as places like Maysville Kentucky. Sunday looks snow free, but another clipper could scoot through on Monday squeezing out light snow showers and flurries, but we do not expect any accumulation out of it at this point. Clouds will build again on Tuesday as another big storm develops off to our southwest. That storm rolls in on Wednesday and will probably wash away the snow we pick up this weekend – so there goes the hope for a white Christmas…or maybe not. As this big storm wraps up and stalls out over the Great Lakes, it will pull down the cold air out of Canada and we could see a changeover back to snow on Christmas Eve Thursday with light snow continuing through Christmas Day Friday. Now technically we need an inch of snow on the ground to qualify for a white Christmas, and that may be a stretch out of the wrap-around snow we expect late next week and into next weekend…but we will keep our fingers crossed and keep you posted. Stay tuned!

Don’t expect the clouds to break overnight, and some mist/drizzle along with areas of fog will probably be lurking in spots out there as we head into Monday morning’s commute to work. There is some hope for Monday, it will be the pick day of the next seven with temperatures expected to climb into the lower 50s, maybe even warmer if the sun decides to peek out for an extended period of time. The next cold blast is not far off however, a strong cold front will swing through Monday night with a chance for light rain as it does so, and then on Tuesday we will have mostly cloudy skies and a stiff northwest breeze as afternoon temperatures struggle to stay above 40 degrees. We don’t expect any snow as all this goes down through, snow with this next system will all stay off to our northwest in places like Nebraska and up into Minnesota and Wisconsin, and east through Michigan and over the Great Lakes. Wednesday and Thursday will be cold and quiet days here in the Ohio Valley, but maybe not quite as cold as we were originally expecting…and then it gets interesting for the end of the week. A weather system is forecast to swing south out of the Great Lakes on Friday and could get started as a wintry mix, but by Saturday and Sunday as cold air floods south out of Canada it looks like we are in for snow showers, possibly resulting in some accumulation over the weekend too as a favorable wind fetch sets up off the Great Lakes and the system kind of stalls out in the region. As of right now snowfall accumulation would probably be limited to a few inches, although it is really hard to speculate with any accuracy a week out with the way our long-range computer models have failed to kick out a consistent and converging solution. We’ll keep our eyes on it and keep you posted. Stay tuned!

Rain showers are on the way overnight, and while we did hit the lower 40s on our Saturday afternoon, temperatures are expected to fall enough to where we are concerned about a little freezing rain – especially north of the metro – as this all gets going. The air overhead is so dry that the initial shot of rain that moves in will evaporate which pulls heat out of the air, and that will help it cool enough that we will probably be at, or a few degrees below freezing for a couple hours when the rain arrives. Areas of most concern for slick spots are Butler and Warren Counties, and then all points north. Temperatures should slowly rise overnight, so unless you plan on being on the roadways after midnight, this will not be much of a concern as ice accumulation is not expected and neither are power outages. Rain showers will still be hanging around with temperatures above freezing for Sunday morning, but by afternoon any steady showers will be off to the northeast and we will probably just be left with clouds and a little mist and drizzle through the afternoon. There will be a nice and comfortable day on Monday with temperatures climbing into the 50s for the afternoon, almost warm enough to leave the coat at home! It will be short lived sadly as another strong and wind-driven cold front is expected to move through on Tuesday morning, and light rain will be possible associated with this front Monday night and into Tuesday morning, but this will be another round of snow the misses the Tri-state with heavy snow accumulations possible once again in the Midwest and up through Chicago and into Southern Michigan. Tuesday will be a day where the temperature falls during the afternoon, and Wednesday and Thursday look really cold again with afternoon highs only in the 30s. We will warm up a little late in the week before another weather system swings through late Friday and into Saturday. It’s tough to say at this point exactly how this one will play out, but right now we’ll say a chance for rain and snow on Friday and then a chance for light snow on Saturday with skies settling down by Sunday. Stay tuned!

Now THAT was a shot of winter! And we still have one more cold night to suffer through before the next warm up kicks in. Expect to be back down well into the teens overnight underneath clear skies, and then on Saturday it starts to feel better with southerly winds pushing us up to about 40 degrees before the clouds get too thick. The increasing afternoon clouds will be bringing some rain Saturday night, and that could be a problem with the very dry air that will be overhead. The leading edge of the rain showers could become sleet or even light freezing rain from about 10pm Saturday until the very early morning hours of Sunday…possibly lasting longer up towards the I-70 corridor, before the warm push with this next system eventually winds out and we will all just have a cold – but above freezing – rain shower around through Sunday morning. By Sunday afternoon we think this system, will be far enough off to the east to result in at least a peek of late day sunshine. Fortunately there is not any cold air for us behind that Sunday system, and that means we have a shot at hitting 50 degrees to kick off the work week with a little sun, before the next strong cold front moves in late Monday/early Tuesday. This Tuesday cold front will be packing another really cold and wind-driven punch with little or no snow for the Ohio Valley, very much like this week’s monster cold shot. Tuesday is the very windy and falling temperature day, and then Wednesday and Thursday look pretty quiet and very cold. By Friday some slightly warmer air tries to return, but another weather system could be trying to crank up by that time. As next weekend arrives we will be looking for potentially a light mix later on Friday and then light snow into Saturday. We’ll keep our eyes on it – stay tuned!

This next weather system arriving early on Monday morning is showing signs of weakening a bit, however we will still need to be on the lookout for light snow showers as the daybreak hour approaches. The cloud cover that will thicken overnight is welcomed I think because it will help keep temperatures a little warmer than what we were forced to suffer through early on Sunday morning…but if enough snow falls we would certainly be in for a slow Monday morning commute. As this weak system moves through during the first half of Monday, what would initially be light snow may mix with a little light rain before any precipitation ends all together during the afternoon and a little sun tries to peek out. A much more powerful storm system is set to move in late on Tuesday with a big surge of warm air coming with it. We expect rain showers by the end of the day Tuesday with potentially a real soaking downpour Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. The latest computer model runs suggest the center of this big storm will track up toward Chicago, so that would mean a mild Wednesday morning/midday with only a few showers and a few peeks of sunshine possible, then the very strong cold front whips through Wednesday evening with crashing temperatures and a chance for light rain to mix with and changeover to light snow. While light snow could continue into Thursday morning, the much further northwest track now forecast for this storm will probably keep us out of any snow accumulation, but the cold will definitely not miss us. Thursday looks to be a windy and very cold day here in the Tri-state…probably the coldest we have seen yet. The strong cold push also changes the extended outlook some, we were originally thinking another storm could develop late Friday/Saturday, but now it looks like that storm will stay well to our south so we will trend that storm out of the forecast and only mention a slight chance for light snow on the first part of Saturday. So next weekend looks cold and mostly dry, and we will look for possibly a clipper-type system to move in from the northwest on Monday of next week and another round of light snow associated with it – that is unless the long-range changes again…which it has done a lot lately. Stay tuned!