


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Cleveland, OH
Issued by NWS Cleveland, OH
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081 FXUS61 KCLE 051914 AFDCLE Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Cleveland OH 314 PM EDT Sat Jul 5 2025 .SYNOPSIS... A cold front will sag southeast across the area late Sunday night and Monday. This front will stall just south of our area through Tuesday as high pressure presses in from the north. The front is expected to lift north towards the area on Wednesday and then waffle north and south slightly through the rest of the week, leading to a return to a more active weather pattern. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... The main weather stories through the near term forecast period will be hot temperatures (expected to remain a bit below any heat headline criteria) and thunderstorm potential, mainly across Northwest Ohio late Sunday afternoon and evening. The weather will largely be quiet this evening and tonight as we`re on the northern periphery of ridging surface and aloft, giving us a fairly dry column with minimal forcing. We`ve seen a few showers pop along a lake breeze across Northwest PA this afternoon, and maintain isolated to scattered shower/storm potential in the forecast through early this evening across Northeast OH and Northwest PA. The dry column and lack of larger-scale forcing are working against this activity, but there`s just enough low-level moisture for the lake breeze to try to trigger convection. This activity should dissipate or exit east-southeast by about 8 PM. Lows tonight will generally range from the upper 60s to low 70s. A few spots in inland Northwest PA may dip a bit lower, with a spot like downtown Cleveland probably not dipping below 75. Probably a bit too much of a pressure gradient for radiation fog development tonight. Most of Sunday will feature very warm temperatures and plenty of sunshine for most of the day. Highs will generally push into the low to mid 90s with fairly deep mixing beneath 850mb temps of 18-20C. The one saving grace is that deep mixing should help keep dew points well into the 60s across much of the area tomorrow. So while it will be hot and folks with outdoor plans or without AC should be prepared for the heat, heat index values should generally top out 92-98 degrees...safely below headline criteria across most of the area. Expect scattered to numerous showers and storms to develop from IN into MI Sunday afternoon as a cold front begins approaching. This activity should make it into Northwest OH during the late afternoon or evening hours on Sunday, as 1000-2000 J/KG of uncapped MLCAPE are expected to be in place with some added forcing from a shortwave glancing the region through the evening. Boosted POPs to 60-70% from Erie to Wyandot Counties points northwest. There is non-zero potential for a downburst or two with stronger storms across Northwest OH late Sunday given steep low-level lapse rates and dry mid-level air, though weak shear and modest forcing preclude a more organized severe or flooding threat. An isolated shower or storm may try developing along the lake breeze northeast of Cleveland Sunday afternoon, though well-mixed and fairly dry low-levels will be prominent. Given this, did not include POPs for showers or storms with the lake breeze Sunday afternoon. POPs drop off to the east/southeast into Sunday night as activity should start petering out as the sun sets and as the activity pushes into a somewhat drier and more stable airmass. Still, some activity could make it all the way into Northeast OH before completely dissipating late Sunday evening. Otherwise, maintain low POPs across all but our far southeast through Sunday night given the front slowly pushing into the area. With only modest forcing it`s questionable how much shower/thunder activity actually persists through the night, though there`s enough support to keep a low mention in through the night. It will be a warm night Sunday night, lows upper 60s to mid 70s. && .SHORT TERM /MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... The main focus for the short term will be a cold front crossing the area on Monday and stalling just to our south Monday night through Tuesday night. Shower/storm potential remains ahead of the front, with high pressure attempting to build from the north and dry us out behind the front. The front will likely be draped from near Toledo east across Lake Erie to start Monday, with warm and humid conditions persisting ahead of it. The front is expected to sag south to southeast through Monday afternoon and clear our area by mid evening. Jet support and shear remain modest on Monday, though strong heating of a moist and uncapped airmass should allow for moderate to strong instability and at least scattered showers and storms to develop ahead of the front through the afternoon. POPs are lower across Northwest OH on Monday, though range from 50-80% elsewhere. Precipitable water values approaching 2.00" and generally weak west-southwest flow aloft paralleling the sagging cold front could lead to some training convection with very heavy rain rates on Monday...so will need to watch for isolated flash flooding. Weak forcing and recent drier weather do argue against a more notable/widespread threat. Moderate to strong instability, steep low-level lapse rates, and up to 25kt of deep-layer bulk shear could support a few stronger pulse storms and/or small clusters that could produce isolated downbursts on Monday. We are currently not outlooked in a risk for severe weather and am not expecting an organized/widespread threat, though we can`t rule out something isolated. The main thing to watch for Monday will be the timing of the front...if it trends faster/slower the amount of convection across the local area will decrease/increase. POPs gradually shut off from northwest to southeast Monday night into Tuesday, though still hang on to some low POPs across our southern fringes through Tuesday as it`s uncertain how far south the front will push before stalling. Monday will still be warm and humid, especially towards Canton and Youngstown where the front will take longest to cross. Highs are expected to generally be in the mid to perhaps upper 80s, with enough humidity to push heat index values to 90-95 in Northeast OH and Northwest PA. Lows Monday night will be slightly cooler than prior nights, generally 65-70. Highs Tuesday reach the low to mid 80s, with a fairly comfortable night Tuesday night as lows settle into the 60s. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... The long term forecast period will feature slightly warmer than average temperatures with occasional shower and storm chances. A fairly zonal pattern is expected through the second half of the week with troughs over the Northeast and northern Rockies/ Plains, with ridging focused over the south. The front discussed above is likely to drift back north and then waffle through the long term period as various weak shortwaves track through the region. Model agreement on the timing of these weak shortwaves and associated rain chances is not great, so expect refinement of the forecast over the coming days. && .AVIATION /18Z Saturday THROUGH Thursday/... Aloft, W`erly to WNW`erly flow backs gradually toward SW`erly through 18Z/Sun as a ridge exits slowly E`ward and a trough approaches from the northern and central Great Plains. At the surface, the ridge continues to exit slowly SE`ward. Our regional surface winds trend S`erly to SW`erly around 5 to 15 knots through 18Z/Sun. Isolated and periodic gusts up to 20 knots are expected after 15Z/Sun. Note: a WSW`erly to WNW`erly lake breeze along/within several miles of Lake Erie from roughly the longitude of KBKL and points east is expected to dissipate around 00Z/Sun. However, after ~15Z/Sun, another lake breeze should develop in the same general area and cause winds to veer toward W`erly. Mainly VFR and fair weather are expected through the TAF period. However, a few showers and thunderstorms should continue to develop along the lake breeze front through this early evening and impact inland portions of far-NE OH and NW PA. Brief MVFR to IFR and brief/erratic surface wind gusts up to 40 knots should accompany showers and especially storms. Some of this convection may impact KYNG, but odds favor convection missing KYNG generally to the north. Showers/storms should dissipate by 01Z/Sun as the boundary layer begins to stabilize via nocturnal cooling. Note: the scattered cloud layer based at 5kft AGL and forecast for each TAF site, except KERI, represents expected diurnal cumuliform clouds through ~00Z/Sun and again after ~14Z/Sun. Outlook...Non-VFR possible with isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms on Sunday through this Wednesday, mainly during the afternoon and early evening hours 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 Thursday. A high pressure ridge exits slowly SE`ward from the Lake Erie region through Sunday. A lake breeze along and near the lakeshore from roughly downtown Cleveland through Erie County, PA will dissipate early this evening. Otherwise, S`erly to SW`erly winds are expected through Sunday. SW`erly winds should veer gradually to N`erly Sunday night through Monday night as a cold front drifts SE`ward across the lake. On Tuesday through Thursday, winds should trend variable in direction as a ridge attempts to build from the James Bay area and the aforementioned front wavers in a north-south manner between the Upper and Mid OH Valley and Lake Erie in response to weak lows that should move generally E`ward along the front. Winds should trend onshore during the late morning through early evening hours of Tuesday through Thursday, respectively, due to lake breeze development. && .CLE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OH...Air Quality Alert until midnight EDT tonight for OHZ010>014- 020>022-089. PA...None. MARINE...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Sullivan NEAR TERM...Sullivan SHORT TERM...Sullivan LONG TERM...Sullivan AVIATION...Jaszka MARINE...Jaszka