CLEVELAND — The front is here.
WEATHER IMPACT ALERT
We've issued Weather Impact Alerts through Friday. The weather will be impactful to your plans and we want to help you get ahead of it.
A strong cold front will plow through northern Ohio this afternoon, bringing a quick increase in winds, some rain and a temperature drop that brings in colder air for much of the extended forecast.
After the initial blast of wind, rain and colder temperatures, tonight will be fairly quiet. Mostly cloudy skies will be the rule with passing shower chances. Temperatures will drop back into the 30s with wind chills slipping into the 20s.
THURSDAY
If you've been anxiously awaiting those first flakes of the season, we should be greeted by our first snowflakes of the year Thursday morning. Snow will continue to fly all day Thursday with cold temps. We're not expecting much to stick other than elevated surfaces. Expect a much colder day with gusty winds at times making it feel more like the 20s for much of the day.
THURSDAY EVENING & NIGHT
You'll notice the Weather Impact Alert highlights tomorrow evening. Lake Erie begins to get involved Thursday evening into Thursday night. Lake effect snow is expected to come in waves, but this is the timeframe where we could get some accumulating slushy snow across portions (not all) of NE Ohio. We could also have some slick spots for that Friday morning commute.
We won't be getting a lot of accumulation and whatever does accumulate will be slushy (and likely melt off on Friday).
FRIDAY
Friday's start will be tricky, but by midday the temperatures will be warming. Most of our lake effect rain/snow over to mainly rain. Wind will continue with temps in the 40s for highs.
SATURDAY
Lake rain will begin to wind down with a cold and blustery day expected. 40s for highs once again.
THANKSGIVING TRAVEL WEEK PREVIEW
We'll continue our active pattern into next week -- as of now it looks like scattered rain and snow showers will be around Monday-Wednesday with a transition to colder air for Thanksgiving with some snowflake chances. We'll have to keep a close eye on the pattern next week, though, as some model guidance is suggesting a more powerful storm system around Thanksgiving itself.
3-DAY FORECAST
TONIGHT: Wind and rain settling late. Mainly cloudy with a passing shower chance. 30s
THURSDAY: Blustery with on-and-off snow showers. Cold with highs in the mid to upper 30s
THURSDAY NIGHT: Lake effect snow. Gusty winds. Some accumulation possible where lake snow persists. Low 30s
FRIDAY: Early lake snow mixing with then changing over to mainly lake effect rain. Cloudy and windy elsewhere. Low 40s
SATURDAY: Lingering rain showers. Upper 40s
Here are some quick weather resources you can use:
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Get more weather from the 3News Weather team of Betsy Kling (@betsykling), Matt Wintz (@WintzWeather), Anthony Copeland (@WeatherManAC), and Jessica Van Meter (@jessicav_wx)
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