Hot Tuesday ahead before rain & storms return to Columbus area

QUICK WEATHER FORECAST:

• Tonight: Partly cloudy, low 65
• Tuesday: Some clouds, very warm, high 88
• Wednesday: PM rain & storms, high 83
• Thursday: Early rain & rumbles, high 76
• Friday: Few pm storms, high 80

FORECAST DISCUSSION:

Good Monday Evening,

After a very warm start to the weekend, we will keep some clouds around the area, with a very warm evening ahead. Overnight, we will have a few clouds, and lows only dropping to the middle 60s.

Tuesday will be another very warm to hot afternoon with temps soaring into the upper 80s to near 90 in our area, with a good deal of sunshine and a few clouds. Cannot rule out a very stray isolated pop up late on Tuesday, but most of us should stay dry. Wednesday we will have much better chances of showers and storms, especially in the second half of the day as a cold front approaches and passes through our area.

At this point, thinking the cold front will come through mid-late afternoon, temps should still climb into the lower 80s. A slight shift in the timing of the front (earlier=cooler, later=warmer) will shift temps a bit. At this time, it does appear a few isolated storms could be strong to severe on Wednesday afternoon. The Storm Prediction Center has already has a corridor from near Lake Erie southwest to Texas under a "slight risk" level 2/5 for severe later in the day.

Locally, that risk is in the "slight risk" range, from roughly US-22 and north/west in Ohio. The main risks will be strong gusty winds, and some hail with the storms as the cold front pushes through. Behind the front we will have early rain & rumbles on Thursday with drier and more seasonal air in the mid to upper 70s later. Friday we will warm back to around 80 with a chance of a few pm storms as another front pushes through.

This front will be quickly followed by a warm front for Saturday, that could spark off a few morning showers, or a rumble of non-severe thunder. Temps on Saturday should climb back up into the lower 80s. Sunday more rain showers and storms will be possible later in the day (in the heat of the day) as a stalled boundary will be nearby, highs will be in the lower 80s.

That boundary will be more pronounced for Memorial Day Monday with on/off rain and storms, and highs in the upper 70s.

-Dave