CLEVELAND — Mother Nature has the cold, Arctic Air locked and loaded, and she's aiming it right at Ohio!
A series of cold fronts will cross the area Thursday into next week.
This will bring some very cold air from the far reaches of Canada all the way south into Ohio.
The coldest air is poised to arrive early next week. And, yes, that does mean much of the area will see accumulating snow!
The first cold front arrives early Thursday. Scattered rain showers will begin to mix with wet snow mid-morning followed by scattered snow showers Thursday afternoon.
The snow will end for most spots by mid to late afternoon Thursday.
But, not before depositing a good dusting to as much as two inches of wet sloppy snow across the region.
Isolated lake effect snow showers will continue Thursday night and Friday morning for a few folks in the snow belt.
We'll get a brief break from winter for the weekend. Saturday is dry with highs in the 40s. Sunday is dry for the Browns game with high temperatures near 50 degrees.
The next cold front arrives early Monday morning.
A few rain showers are possible Sunday night and early Monday. That rain will change to steady snow for Monday with a few inches of accumulation possible area-wide.
Cold, blustery, northwest winds will then take over Monday night ushering in some mid-winter type temperatures.
Highs Monday and Tuesday will hang in the lower and middle 30s, with overnight lows in the 20s.
Wind chill at the start of the week will drop into the teens!
The Lake Effect Snow machine will turn on thanks to that northwest wind.
That could mean heavy snow for many folks in the primary and secondary snow belts of Northeast Ohio Monday night thru next Wednesday.
Some folks in portions of Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula counties (possibly northern Medina, Summit and Portage counties, too!) may be shoveling double digit inches of snow from their driveways.
Many of the details of this arctic outbreak are still to be determined. Exact snowfall totals are not yet set in stone. Locations for the heavy snow are still uncertain. Subtle changes in wind speed and direction will determine where the heaviest snow bands will set up.
What we do know for certain: Winter arrives early this year and you'll need your warm coat and snow shovel to make it through!
