


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Cleveland, OH
Issued by NWS Cleveland, OH
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869 FXUS61 KCLE 061934 AFDCLE Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Cleveland OH 334 PM EDT Sun Jul 6 2025 .SYNOPSIS... A cold front approaching from the northwest will stall across far Northwest Ohio and Lake Erie tonight, before slowly pushing southeast across the area on Monday. High pressure briefly builds in from the northern Monday night into Tuesday. The front will lift back into the area on Wednesday and waffle across the region into the weekend. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... A cold front extends from central MI to northern IL this afternoon, and is gradually pushing southeast. The front is expected to stall near or just northwest of Toledo overnight tonight before slowly sagging south-southeast across the area through early Monday evening. Hot and humid conditions ahead of the front, along with potential for showers and storms, are the forecast foci for the near term period. A few showers are attempting to develop across North Central OH along a low-level theta-e gradient this afternoon. These have been struggling given dry air aloft and minimal forcing, though do carry some 20% POPs east-northeast across the Cleveland area and eastern lakeshore through this evening. Otherwise, we are starting to see some weak convection attempting to fire along the leading edge of higher theta-e air over far Northwest OH, with additional convection developing to the west-northwest along and ahead of the cold front. A weak shortwave will glance Northwest OH with a bit of large-scale forcing for ascent this evening. Expect storms to gradually increase in coverage and organization upstream through early this evening and push into Northwest OH. Am not expecting storms to maintain their intensity for long after sunset as the weak shortwave begins exiting east and as the low-levels begin to undergo nocturnal stabilization. Given this, have likely (60-70%) POPs northwest of a Findlay to Sandusky line, quickly decreasing to the east and southeast. While some remnant convection will try pushing farther east later this evening into tonight, especially closer to the warm waters of Lake Erie, how far any measurable rain gets is a question...hence the quick drop off in POPs. High DCAPE and steep low-level lapse rates could support a marginal downburst risk in Northwest OH through 9 or 10 PM if any perkier cells make it in...however, weak forcing/minimal shear will be working against any more of a severe threat than that. The overnight hours will be mainly dry once any lingering evening convection ahead of the front fizzles. Hang onto slight chances (20%) for showers across Northwest OH and Lake Erie overnight ahead of the front with a dry forecast elsewhere. The front will start moving again on Monday, with a weak shortwave crossing the region during the afternoon. Heating of a very moist airmass (precipitable water values near 2.00") will yield the development of 1000-2000 J/KG of uncapped MLCAPE by midday or early afternoon ahead of the front. This uncapped instability, more humid column, and forcing with the front and shortwave should allow showers and storms to start developing by late morning or early afternoon, with coverage and organization peaking across far eastern OH and into interior northwestern PA before exiting to the east-southeast into the evening hours. Maintained likely to categorical (60-80%) POPS from interior North Central and Northeast OH into inland Northwest PA, with POPs decreasing to the northwest. There remains some question regarding the coverage and organization of showers/storms. The general synoptic setup supports the high POPs. However, the 12z HRRR presented an alternative idea, focusing development along a pre-frontal theta-e gradient from far eastern OH into western PA, mainly southeast of our area. Most other CAMs have greater coverage, though will need to monitor that possibility. The thermodynamics won`t be super supportive of severe weather on Monday, though the higher-end CAPE scenario when combined with up to 25kt of deep-layer shear could produce an isolated wet microburst threat. This is covered by an SPC Marginal Risk (level 1 of 5). Mean west-southwest flow aloft, paralleling the front, along with the moist profiles could support isolated training convection with torrential rates. We`ve dried out lately, though can`t rule out isolated flash flooding if training plays out in an urban or prone area. Temperatures are pushing into the low to mid 90s across much of the area this afternoon, though dew points mainly in the 60s are keeping heat index values below 100. It will be warm and muggy tonight with lows in the low to mid 70s for most of the area. Highs on Monday will generally reach the low to mid 80s, with very muggy conditions persisting until the front crosses. Dry weather is expected Monday night once the front exits, with lows dipping into the 60s. Patchy fog is possible late Monday night as winds decouple with weak high pressure building in. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... Mainly dry weather is expected on Tuesday as the front stalls across the northern Ohio Valley. Hang onto a 20% POP across our southern fringes (i.e. Mt. Vernon and Youngstown) as there`s some uncertainty regarding where the front stalls, though most guidance keeps our entire area rain-free. The front begins lifting back north Wednesday and Wednesday night as a shortwave digs into the upper Mississippi Valley and starts approaching from the west. This will bring a return to greater humidity along with chances for showers/storms, particularly Wednesday afternoon and early evening. Forcing is still fairly modest on Wednesday, so am not expecting more than isolated to scattered coverage. The 12z NAM is a significant outlier, showing an organized low pressure moving into the central Great Lakes on Wednesday with much greater instability and shear locally. The NAM appears to have suffered from convective feedback, as no other model has nearly as robust of a solution with that low. Tuesday will be a pleasant day with dew points cooling well into the 60s and highs in the low to mid 80s...with parts of PA possibly staying in the 70s. Lows will be in the low to mid 60s Tuesday night, with perhaps a few upper 50s in interior PA. Dew points start pushing into the mid to upper 60s on Wednesday with highs generally in the mid 80s. Lows Wednesday night will be a bit warmer, generally mid to upper 60s. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... A generally zonal pattern is in store for the latter portions of the work week and weekend, with general troughing over the northern Plains/upper Midwest and New England and ridging over the southern U.S. The frontal boundary that will lift back into the area on Wednesday will waffle around through the weekend as various weak shortwaves track along it. The long term will be somewhat unsettled with occasional shower and storm chances. It remains tricky to pin down the timing of the greatest rain chances in what will be a weakly-forced pattern, so for now the forecast remains rather generic with 30-50% type POPs in most afternoons and generally lower POPs at night. There is some agreement that the front will lift north Friday and Friday night ahead of a shortwave digging into the Upper Midwest, before pushing back south Saturday or Saturday night as that shortwave pushes through the northern Great Lakes. That could lead to a window of greater rain potential Saturday or Saturday night. Otherwise, temperatures will be near to a bit warmer than normal (with the warmest temperatures expected for the weekend) with a fair amount of humidity through the extended. && .AVIATION /18Z Sunday THROUGH Friday/... Aloft, SW`erly flow and embedded disturbances affect our region through 18Z/Mon as a ridge drifts generally E`ward, away from the U.S. east coast and a trough lingers over the north-central U.S. and vicinity. At the surface, a ridge continues to exit generally SE`ward before a cold front begins to move SE`ward across our region around 07Z/Mon. This front should be located just east of KERI and KGKJ, and just east and south of KYNG by 18Z/Mon. Behind the front, another ridge attempts to build from northern ON. Ahead of the cold front, our regional surface winds trend S`erly to SW`erly around 5 to 15 knots. These winds will gust up to 20 knots at times through ~23Z/Sun. Behind the front, winds veer to W`erly to NW`erly around 5 to 10 knots. Widespread VFR persist for the time being. Along and ahead of the cold front, isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms have developed across portions of southern Lower MI, NW OH, and vicinity as of 17:55Z/Sun. The coverage of these showers/storms is expected to expand generally S`ward through this early evening as the moist boundary layer continues to destabilize via daytime heating ahead of any showers/storms. The showers/storms are expected to persist generally ENE`ward and impact NW OH, including KTOL and KFDY, this afternoon through early evening. These isolated to scattered showers/storms should then persist farther ENE`ward across portions of our region later this evening through 12Z/Mon. There is greater potential for this convection to impact KMFD/KCLE/KERI compared to KCAK and KYNG since nocturnal cooling should allow a pronounced N`erly gradient in instability to develop later this evening through daybreak Monday as ~77F Lake Erie becomes warm relative to overlying air and surface air over surrounding land. Additional isolated to scattered showers/thunderstorms are expected along and ahead of the cold front and should impact our region from ~04Z/Mon through 18Z/Mon. Behind the surface portion of the cold front, widespread MVFR ceilings near 2kft AGL are expected through 18Z/Mon. Rain showers associated with the upper-reaches of the front should persist for several hours behind the surface cold front passage. Note: periods of heavy rain are likely with any showers/storms. Thunderstorms may produce brief/erratic surface wind gusts up to 30 to 50 knots, especially through 00Z/Mon and after 16Z/Mon. Outlook...Non-VFR expected with periodic showers and thunderstorms Monday afternoon through this Friday. Greatest potential for showers/storms exists during the afternoon through early evening of each day. && .MARINE... Waves of 3 feet or less and wind speeds of 5 to 15 knots are expected on Lake Erie through this Friday. A high pressure ridge exits SE`ward from the Lake Erie region before a wavy cold front drifts SE`ward across the lake tonight through Monday night. Primarily S`erly to SW`erly winds persist ahead of the front and veer to NW`erly with the front`s passage. Farther behind the front, winds veer to N`erly to NE`erly as a ridge attempts to build from northern ON. On Tuesday through Friday, winds are expected to be variable in direction since the aforementioned front should waver in a north-south manner between the Upper and Mid OH Valley and Lake Erie as multiple weak surface lows move generally E`ward along the front. Simultaneously, the aforementioned ridge should continue to attempt to build from eastern Canada. Winds should trend onshore during the late morning through early evening hours of Tuesday through Friday, respectively, due to lake breeze development. && .CLE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OH...None. PA...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Sullivan NEAR TERM...Sullivan SHORT TERM...Sullivan LONG TERM...Sullivan AVIATION...Jaszka MARINE...Jaszka