Hello… late blog today!  I’ve been working with our new meteorologist, Brandon Redmond… getting him familiar with our computer system, and he’s even showing me some of his tools!  VERY cool stuff… all things we’ll use to track some stronger storms later today.  You will be seeing Brandon on occasion here on the blog, and also on-air on Channel 2.  He storm chases, too… so he will likely be bringing us some very cool images.

Scattered showers moved through the Miami Valley this morning… we even heard a few rumbles of thunder.  Nothing has been anywhere near severe, but this is just round one.  We are expecting another round of stronger storms that will come through during the evening hours.  A strong storm will be heading our way, and during the late afternoon, we’re expecting a line of thunderstorms to develop to our west… you can see it on one of our high-resolution models around 6pm:

Those thunderstorms will then move through the Miami Valley… and some of them could be strong to severe, as the SPC has placed us in an ELEVATED risk for severe storms:

The best chance for this to occur will be between 6 and 11pm… so if you have evening plans, stay aware of the changing weather situation.  Before you head out, check out Chief Meteorologist Brian Davis’ updates between 5 and 6:30pm.  Download the 2 News App on your mobile device so you can stay connected… and sign up for text alerts to stay on top of any warnings that are issued.  We’ve got you covered!

The weekend looks pretty good–cool and dry Saturday, with summerlike weather returning Sunday, along with the chance of a few showers and thunderstorms.  BUT it won’t rain all day, we’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the mid-70s!

Jamie
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High pressure is building down from the north today, and that is bringing in some cooler air.  You can see how much cooler we are this morning vs. yesterday morning:

Highs will still be above normal, despite the cooler airmass.  We should make it into the upper 50s to right around 60-degrees.  AND it won’t be as windy!  Yesterday afternoon, I could tell the tree pollen was soaring again.  My daughter’s eyes started to look a little puffy, and by bedtime, she was itching them quite a bit.  She’s been taking perscription eyedrops, and even with the treatment… an allergy attack was developing!  Sure enough, when I came in to look at the  new numbers today, the tree pollen count had doubled from yesterday’s numbers:

We really need to get some rain in here to help settle and wash away some of the allergens.  Good news:  that will happen tomorrow!  An area of low pressure heads our way and will bring scattered showers and thunderstorms back to the Miami Valley.  The afternoon/evening looks to be the best time to see rain… and any thunderstorm that gets going will have the potential to be strong to severe.  The SPC has us in an Elevated Risk for severe weather:

We will keep an eye on it and let you know if we get any watches or warnings for the area.  Spring is a GREAT time to get signed up for TEXT ALERTS through wdtn.com.  You can pick your county, so you don’t get warnings for counties you don’t care about

The weekend still looks pretty good with a cool-ish Saturday, and a warmer Sunday… both days with low rain chances.

Jamie
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A cold front approaching the Miami Valley this morning keeps us with the chance of a spotty shower or thunderstorm through at least lunchtime.  We have seen some activity early on on Live Doppler 2X, but a lot of locations will not see any rain at all.  Here is the radar image as of 8am–you can see how little the coverage is.  Click on the radar below to get the current loop:

Once the front is south of us this afternoon, the chance of any showers ends… so the rest of the day will be dry.  It’s going to be a mild, above-normal afternoon as high temperatures climb up near 70-degrees.  BUT the winds also increase.  So you’ll have to fight some gusts if you want to get out and enjoy this nice day!  As we get daytime heating, showers and thunderstorms will increase along the front–and some of them could reach severe limits, especially in parts of Kentucky and West Virginia:

Even though the threat of strong thunderstorms is mainly south of the area today, you may still hear tornado sirens in your community this morning.  As a part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, there is a statewide tornado drill at 9:50 am.  Participating communities will sound the outdoor sirens… schools that are in session will have the kids go through the drill.  AND you should also go through the motions at home.  If you don’t have a plan in place… make one today.  Just before 10am, head into your basement… look around:  is there a first aid kit there?  A flashlight?  Blankets?  Bottled water, non-perishable food items?  Things to think about.  Here is what to have in place BEFORE the storm hits:

And if, by chance, your location happens to go under a tornado warning, it is time to ACT:

The National Weather Service has put out this easy way to remember what to do:  DUCK.

D= DOWN to the lowest level

U= UNDER something sturdy

C= COVER your head

K= KEEP in shelter until the storm has passed

Easy as that!  Thankfully, we shouldn’t have to worry about it today.  High pressure builds in from the north tonight, and this will bring in a cooler airmass for Thursday.  We’ll see a lot of sun, but highs will be back in the mid-50s (which is actually near normal).  The weekend weather system looks like it’s speeding up a bit, so now rain chances have increased for Friday, with a fairly dry weekend forecast at this point.  Saturday should end up being an OK day, with highs in the lower 60s… and even better with highs near 70 on Sunday.  We will continue to keep an eye on that system and let you know of any forecast adjustments!

Have a good one!
Jamie
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Morning temperatures dipped below freezing in most Miami Valley communities.  It’s the coldest we’ve been since back on March 10th!  Did you cover your plants?  I had to bring in a potted plant, and we did put sheets on two bushes.  It definitely wasn’t a horrible freeze, but these bushes are front and center in our yard… and have a history of burning a bit when cold… so I wanted to be safe!  The Freeze Warning goes until 10am, but we’ll likely climb above freezing between now & 8:30 or so.  Once we make it above 32°, remove the cover!  Here’s a look at morning lows across the region:

Notice the 50s are not far off–and we’ll see a big climb this afternoon with sunshine and a southerly flow.  After the freezing start, it will end up being a decent day, with highs near 60. Tonight will NOT be as cold, with overnight lows only in the lower 50s, as a cold front approaches.  This front brings in the chance of a few scattered showers and thunderstorms late tonight and early Wednesday:

The winds increase, too, so  Wednesday will be a breezy, mild day.  Morning rain moves out and the afternoon will be dry with a high near 70.  Cool temps take over behind the front for Thursday, with highs in the mid-50s.  Up… and down.  We do have one more morning this week where we could get into the 30s–Friday–but right now it looks like we’ll stay above freezing.

We are still in first place for the warmest March on record, with temperatures running more than 14-degrees above normal.  And, really, we continue at or above normal readings for the next several days!

Jamie
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After record warmth, and highs in the 80s last week… we are back to reality today: Spring in Ohio can be cold!  As an area of high pressure builds in today, we will see a lot of sunshine.  BUT that high is moving down from Canada, and is bringing colder air with it.  So temperatures are dropping into the low & mid 40s this morning, and will only make it into the mid-50s this afternoon.  It will also be a little breezy, which will add a little chill to the air.

As the high settles in tonight, we’ll stick with mostly clear skies and winds will lighten up a bit.  This will allow temperatures to dip near freezing in town… and below freezing in the outlying areas.  And because we’ve had such an early start to the growing season, the frost/freeze program has started already!!  Thus, a Freeze Warning is in effect for late tonight and early Tuesday morning for all of the Miami Valley.

If you’ve planted anything… or if plants have come into green on their own, and you know they tend to get damaged when it gets cold… TONIGHT is the night to protect them!  Potted plants can be moved indoors, and the in-ground plants can be covered with sheets.  I will have sheets on my privet bushes for sure… they always get burned when it gets cold.

After the freezing start, we will have a nice recovery Tuesday afternoon, as we rebound back into the low-mid 60s with more sunshine.  A cold front arrives Wednesday, bringing in the next chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms.

This week is Severe Weather Awareness week in Ohio.  All week long, on 2 News Today, we’ll have special features that will act as a refresher going into the severe weather season.  Chief Meteorologist Brian Davis will even appear on the show–quite the treat to get reports from the man himself!    Today, we’re just going to touch on some definitions–terms you’ll hear all season long.

WATCH means WATCH OUT!!  Conditions are favorable for severe weather.  Pay attention to weather conditions throughout the day, should a warning be issued.

WARNING means TAKE ACTION!  Severe weather is imminent or occurring.  Now is the time to put your safety plan into action… go into your safe place.

ADVISORY means a hazardous weather event is occurring.  It is less severe than a warning, but still alerts you to be aware & take action, when necessary.

You’ll hear of many types of these watches and warnings, too… Tornado watch/warning… Flood watch/warning… Severe  Thunderstorm watch/warning.  And speaking of that… what makes a thunderstorm “severe”?  Lightning?  Heavy rain?  Nope.  Here are the things that must occur:

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
*  Hail of 1″ size or larger
*  Wind speeds of 58 mph or stronger
*  A tornado

On Friday, we did have two confirmed tornadoes in the Miami Valley–in Warren and Clinton Counties.  They were EF0 strength, with winds estimated 70-75mph.  There were no injuries or fatalities reported, thankfully, but there was structural and tree damage.  Here is a picture of the wall cloud from that storm… captured by our videographer, Josh Ames:

You can read the National Weather Service’s full report here:  FRIDAY TORNADOES

Jamie
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Our streak of 80-degree days comes to an end today… as we will be held back by clouds and rain moving through the region.  We did have four 80-degree days in a row, and we’ve been above 70-degrees for ten days.  Five of those days hit record highs… and we even had record high LOW temperatures during this time frame.  What a stretch it’s been!

We currently stand at the warmest March on record, but with more of the month to go… that could change.  We will keep tabs on it for you!

So, things change today.  We already have rain moving through the Miami Valley this morning.  Not everyone is seeing it, as it’s been scattered, and this will be the nature of the rain through the course of the day.  On & off showers… perhaps a few thunderstorms.  There is the potential for a band of showers to set up and affect the same spots… with some heavier downpours also possible today… so we’ll have to watch for some ponding out there, and other minor flooding problems.  The threat of organized severe weather looks to be just west of us today, as you can see from the SPC’s latest Severe Weather Outlook:

But we can’t rule out a storm or two with gusty winds and even a little bit of hail as a cold front moves through.  The best chance for this to occur will be in the later afternoon/evening hours.  The front will be east of us on Saturday, but we still have to deal with the upper low.  It is pretty impressive on the morning satellite imagery… click the image below to see the loop:

That upper low will keep us with the chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms for the first half of the weekend, with drier conditions building back our way for Sunday.  Temperatures over the weekend will be in the mid-60s for highs.  That will certainly feel cool, but remember that it’s still about 10-degrees above normal!  Cooler conditions will stick around for the first part of next week, too.  If you’ve done some early planting, keep an eye on those morning low temperatures.  At least one day looks to dip down into the 30s.

I’ve been talking about the extremely high tree pollen all week, and yesterday morning, our daughter woke up with puffy, swollen eyes.  It was scary to see, but I was pretty sure of what it was, as she had been sniffling and rubbing her eyes for days–seasonal allergies.  Sure enough, Dayton spends another year on a bad top ten list… from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America:  TOP TEN WORST CITIES FOR ALLERGIES

Hopefully the rain will bring relief to some of you, as it washes the pollen away… and with the storm moving in and mixing things up, the air quality (which has been moderate the past few days) will improve.  But along with the moisture, will come higher mold counts… so just be aware! 

Happy Friday… high fives… and have a great weekend!!
Jamie
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Dare I say it was HOT yesterday afternoon?  We climbed to a new record high of 86-degrees!  Amazing… this totally smashed the old record of 78-degrees, a long-standing record that dates back to 1918.  We will likely fall JUST shy of today’s record high of 84, as we’re forecasting lower 80s, but it will be close!  But we’ll actually set a different record today:  The number of consecutive days in March above 70-degrees.  We tied the record at 9 in a row yesterday… and today will make 10.  Heck, we’ll likely even make it 11 straight days at/above 70 on Friday, with a forecast high of 72.  The month of March is currently running 14.2° above normal…. just unbelievable!

We will be about 10-degrees cooler on Friday as the slow-moving storm finally gets here.  This morning it’s still spinning over Oklahoma/Texas, but tomorrow, it kicks out into Missouri and will spread scattered showers and thunderstorms into the Miami Valley:

The activity will likely start in the morning and continue on and off through the day.  Some of the thunderstorms will have the potential to be strong to severe, and the SPC has included our area in an ELEVATED risk for severe weather:

As the low moves over the region on Saturday, we’ll stick with the chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms.  The weekend temperatures will be about 20-degrees cooler than we have been, but still about 10-degrees above normal.  Do you believe it?!  Sunday looks to be the drier of the two weekend days, with highs in the mid-60s.  We’re still expecting another temperature upswing next week, as we quickly approach 70 again!

Jamie
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Check out our weather photos:

Our upper level ridge is still holding strong.  THIS is the reason it’s been so warm!

Under the trough in the central and western US, it has been unseasonably cool… Dayton, at 60-degrees this AM, is warmer than LA (50), Dallas (51), Las Vegas (47) AND Albuquerque (32!).  Wow!

The record HIGH low temperature on this date for our area is 58-degrees… so we have a good shot at beating this today.

As we forecast, yesterday we climbed into the lower 80s, setting a new record high.  It was the eighth day in a row above 70-degrees, AND the fourth day in a row that we set a record high:

As displayed above, we officially made it to 83° yesterday… beating the previous record of 80°, set back in 1894.  And IN reaching 83°… we actually broke TWO records:  This is the earliest in the year we’ve EVER been THAT warm!  All of these warm statistics… aaaahh!  We will likely set a new record high for TODAY, as well.  The previous record is 78°, so it will be easy to beat as we’re forecasting 83°!  AND being THIS warm today will TIE the all-time consecutive 70+° stretch in March… at nine days in a row at or above 70°.  Schwew!

Changes head our way for the rest of the week.  No record is expected on Thursday, although it will still be VERY warm, with a high near 80°.  Late Thursday, a slow-moving upper low heads our way… increasing the rain chances for Thursday night.  Expect scattered showers and thunderstorms both Friday and Saturday.  As I was looking at model guidance for Saturday, I was thinking “this could be a cold air funnel day”… seems the NWS in Wilmington and I are on the same wavelength.  They have included this in their hazardous weather outlook for the day.  We’ve had this set-up before in recent years.  Cold air funnels can look threatening and scary in the sky, but they rarely touch the ground.  When they do, they are typically weak and short lived.  You can read more on this phenomenon here:  COLD AIR FUNNELS.

Here is the upper level flow for Saturday:

Note the closed low over us, which will make it a good deal cooler… but we’ll still be WELL above normal.  It is a little crazy that we’ll still be in the lower-mid 60s under this low… normally this would not be the case–we’d be COLD in the 30s/40s!!  Then again, this is not a normal March.  Next thing to note is the ridge building in right behind the low.  That heads back our way next week, keeping us warmer than usual.

Jamie
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First day of Spring photos:

Spring officially began at 1:14 this morning.  And we continue to experience record-warm temperatures, making it feel more like Summer!  Here are some great statistics from our friends at the National Weather Service.  First, the number of days in a row that we’ve been above 70-degrees this month… we could set a new record for the warmest March stretch ever this week!

And although we still have a ways to go, this month as a whole is currently sitting in record territory.  Here is a rundown of the top five warmest Marches, with the current month’s stats in 3rd place:

We’ll see where the rest of the month takes us.  Right now, it seems fairly certain that there will be no major cold snap coming in… although readings will cool off a bit by next weekend.  We are likely to have two more record highs this week–today and Wednesday–as we climb into the lower 80s.  Thursday will be warm (near 80), but a record is not likely.  And then we’ll drop off as a slow-moving storm heads our way for Friday and Saturday.

That storm is currently affecting the south-central US, with torrential rain, and has a history of severe weather.  As much as 4-8″ of rain is possible over parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.  Good news for the drought-plagued areas… but bad news for the flooding it will bring.  Our rain chances go up as the system advances east–starting Thursday night and then ending Sunday morning.  Because the upper level energy is “cut off” from the main flow, the timing could change… but this is what it looks like right now.  We will keep you posted!

Jamie
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After hitting two record highs over the weekend (73° Saturday… and 78° Sunday), we will likely see more record warmth this week:

The upper level ridge is still in tact, keeping us feeling like Summer… even though Spring is about to begin!  We actually welcome spring overnight:

Today, we still carry the slight chance of a pop-up shower or thunderstorm in the afternoon hours, as we reach peak heating.  But the upper level ridge will strengthen over us Tuesday and Wednesday, capping the atmosphere… and this will prevent anything from firing up.  We’ll also enjoy lots of sunshine both days, as we push into the lower 80s.

As I mentioned last week, there are some changes as we head toward this weekend.  A slow-moving storm system will finally get here Friday/Saturday.  This will bring us a better chance of rain… and cooler temperatures to go along with it.  But even though it will feel cool… we’ll still be running about 10-degrees above normal, with highs in the 60s.

Jamie

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I double checked the calendar and it is still March.  If you go by the temperatures outside the calendar should say June.  Our highs again today were in the upper 70′s which is what our normal high would be in June.  It’s still *officially* winter.  Spring doesn’t start until Tuesday March, 20th.

So even though it’s still winter we busted more records today.  We hit a record high and our low this morning was the warmest on record as well.  The National Weather Service keeps tabs of the warmest low temperatures as well.

We’re not the only ones feeling the warmer temperatures.  In yesterday’s blog I showed you a huge ridge of high pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere is pushing warm air northward.  Well take a look at how warm it got in Marquette, MI.  I’ve lived there before and can remember it snowing in March so these temperatures are really unusual.

Along with the warmth we also saw a few storms pop across the Miami Valley.  They were rather isolated in nature but hit Logan and Greene counties.  I did two brief cut-in’s for severe thunderstorm warnings.  These storms produced 1.1″ of rainfall in Logan county in just 30 mins!  Hail fell in North Lewisburg as well.

The storms moved eastward and quickly produced a tornado warning north of Columbus.  There were several reports of funnel clouds near the city.

Another storm fired up in Greene county and one of my twitter followers Sean Kaiser sent this photo to us.  You can send us your photo or video of weather events to reportit@wdtn.com

Sean is now a certified storm spotter thanks to a training session that was held yesterday.  If you are interested in becoming a storm spotter click here to find out when the next training session will be.

There’s another chance for scattered storms on Monday.  Be sure to get the latest information from Jamie Jarosik on 2News Today now beginning at 4:30am.

Tara
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I was sitting on my patio yesterday afternoon amazed how nice it has been.  My step-mom and dad who live in the Chicago area asked me if I was sitting at the pool!  The pool is still closed however it was great to get outside, enjoy the sunshine and the warm temperatures.

Today not only was it warm – Dayton tied a record!  At 1:31pm, Dayton International Airport hit 73° which tied the record set back 78 years ago.

It’s been so warm lately and I wanted to find out how long we’ve been in the 70′s.  It looks like this is the fifth consecutive day where highs have been in the 70′s.

Keep in mind our “normal” high for this time of year is around 50°.  So not only are we above normal we’re WELL above normal by about 20° at times.  So why are we so warm?  Well we have to travel to the upper levels of the atmosphere to get our answer.  Our jet stream or storm track is well north of the Miami Valley which means warmer air is being moved from the south to the north.  We’re not the only ones feeling the warmth.  Parts of northern Minnesota reached the lower 70′s today.  Here’s a look at the upper level “ridge” that’s in place right now and what it will look like through Tuesday.

Highs on Tuesday will approach 80° If we do hit 80° we will tie a record high set back in both 1921 and 1894.  WOW – those are some long standing records!!

I hope you enjoy the warm weather and can get outside!

Tara
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Yesterday, as we forecast, we came within ONE degree of our record high:

HIGH TEMP WEDNESDAY:  77°
RECORD HIGH WEDNESDAY:  78°

Other regional communities DID break/tie their records… here are just a few:

We will continue our stretch of unseasonably warm weather here in the Miami Valley, but now we add the chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms to the mix.  Early this morning, a line of thunderstorms developed in the extreme eastern reaches of the Miami Valley, and then moved out of our area into central Ohio.  Even as these thunderstorms were east of Columbus, we were still enjoying the lightning show here in Dayton:

Over 3,000 lightning strikes were present in Ohio along that line at one point this morning… very intense.  There were also several severe thunderstorm warnings on the line, mainly because of hail.  And a few thunderstorms developed west of us, too… but some went north and some went south.  This will be the nature of the convection today:  Unorganized.  It is impossible to say who will see a thunderstorm, and who will stay dry… but any of us at least have the chance to see something.  And, any thunderstorm that does develop will be able to produce hail, and they’ll also be slow-movers in the weak flow.

The next week continues to advertise temperatures running well above normal.  The lowest record high temperature in this time frame is Saturday’s record–currently 73-degrees.  While we will be near record highs for the next 7 days, Saturday will be our best shot at breaking one:

Even though the rain chance is there, don’t forget the sunscreen!  We’ll see a mix of sun and clouds over the next few days.  Today’s UV Index is a 4, which is considered moderate.  If you have fair skin, you could burn after 30-60 minutes in the sun!

Jamie
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I still can’t believe how many 70+ degree days are showing up in our extended forecast.  Eight days in a row??  Totally possible it will even go a bit longer.  Why is it so warm?  The upper level winds tell the story.  Check out the large ridge that is setting up shop over the eastern part of the country:

This holds strong for the next week, keeping temperatures more than 20-degrees above normal–both highs & lows.  Again, we are very close to records on a few of the days–today being one of them!

We will see a weak disturbance move into the area tomorrow, so the rain chances creep up slightly.  But we’re not expecting a wash-out, as we will have plenty of dry weather both Thursday and Friday.  Outdoor activities will go on… you just may have to dodge a shower or two during the second half of the week.

A reminder… this Saturday is Skywarn’s Storm Spotter Training in Montgomery County:

There are still a few counties that have yet to hold their training… so if you can’t make it Saturday, check out the full list here –> SKYWARN STORM SPOTTER TRAINING SCHEDULE.

Enjoy the day!
Jamie
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Yesterday, as we forecast, the clouds were just enough to keep temperatures in check.  We stayed in the lower 60s… and while it was well above normal, it’s nowhere near how warm we’ll be the rest of the week.  We will see highs in the 70s, starting today!   The last time we made it to 70-degrees was back on November 14th.  The last time we were in the lower 70s was Oct 26th… and mid-70s, October 16th.

We welcome all the out of town visitors with this Chamber of Commerce forecast!  It looks spectacular for an evening out downtown, in the Oregon District, or if you’re heading out to UD Arena for the First Four action:

Normal highs are in the upper 40s, so through the next five-seven days, we will be running more than 20-degrees above those values.  Will we set any records?  Right now, forecast highs are below the record for each day.  BUT it will be close on a couple of the days:

Wednesday may be the pick-day of the week, as we’ll see mid-70s, lots of sun, and lighter winds.  The next chance of rain is Thursday afternoon and into Friday.  It won’t be a wash-out those days, but expect at least a few scattered showers or thunderstorms in the area.  It’s sort of a summer-like weather pattern for the weekend, with the Gulf wide open… warm & humid conditions… the slight chance of a pop-up shower or thunderstorm each day.  And it’s only March 13th!!

Sorry to all the students who missed out on snow days this winter!  I talked with a great group of 4th graders from Centerville yesterday.  While they were hoping for a day off with snow… I don’t think they’re complaining too much about the current forecast!

Enjoy the warmth!
Jamie
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It’s a little early, but wouldn’t you say Spring has sprung?!  After a cold start, we ended with a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, which featured sunshine and highs in the mid-60s!  We were pretty much outside ALL day long.  I started off with a 4 mile run with my 20-month-old in the baby jogger in the morning… then we played in the yard, AND went to the park.  The mild weekend wouldn’t be complete without our first trip to the ice cream store in many months.    The kiddos definitely had fun–as did Mom & Dad!

This morning, Springlike showers are moving through the Miami Valley.  The morning commute will be wet for sure, but the chance of rain tapers off during the afternoon hours.  We still can’t rule out a spotty shower late-day (and even overnight), but the steadier rain will move east of us beyond lunchtime.  Tuesday will start with clouds, but we will get into plenty of sunshine during the afternoon as high pressure builds in:

That high sticks with us through mid-week… keeping the sun around, and temps will be soaring!  The temperature trend is definitely UP:

We’ll be running 20+ degrees above normal, with lots of 70s showing up in the extended forecast.  I am heading to Centerville today to talk to 4th graders all about weather!  I’m hoping they go easy on me, considering the lack of snow-days this year.  If they’re holding out hope for one… I’m not delivering very good news…

Jamie
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It was so great to see the sunshine today!  Our high today was 50° and it’s only going to get warmer as the new work week begins.

Before I start talking about the warmer temperatures I first want to remind you that Daylight Saving Time begins at 2am Sunday.  Basically before you head to bed you should spring your clock forward one hour.  *Also don’t forget to change your smoke detector batteries* (Mine was beeping the other day so I have already put in fresh batteries) Take a look at our old vs. new sunrise and sunset times.

We’re going to see  a lot of sun to start out on Sunday.  It’s going to be on the chilly side with temperatures near freezing but the sun is going to warm us up nicely for the afternoon.  Look for highs near 60°.

Clouds will increase ahead of our next storm system for the afternoon and evening.  By Sunday night we’ll see mostly cloudy skies and by Monday morning rain will overspread the area.

Rain will be likely throughout Monday – with totals near a quarter of an inch.  Once this system moves by dry conditions take over again for Tuesday.  Temperatures begin to soar throughout the week as our jet stream or storm track moves northward into Canada.  This will set the stage for temperatures to rise into the 60′s and near 70 degrees for much of the work week.

The warmer temperatures will also bring several chances for rain by the end of the week so keep the umbrella handy – and of course ENJOY

Tara
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It feels much cooler this morning than yesterday morning!  The cold front that moved through yesterday brought not only rain but also cooler temperatures.  Here’s a look at rainfall amounts from our weathercheckers.

Now onto the chill – Our winds are out of the west and northwest ushering in that cooler air.  Yesterday our temperatures were in the upper 50′s and near 60 – now they’re in the 30′s.  Quite a big difference!

Today’s highs will be running a few degrees below normal for the day today.  After a few high level clouds this morning look for lots of sunshine this afternoon.  Here’s a look at the upper level flow – this shows we’re in a cool pool of air that’s entrenched over much of the Great Lakes.

Notice the warmer air to our south and west.  Our jet stream begins to shift a little for the weekend and some of that warmer air is going to move northward.  Highs on Saturday will be near 50° with lots of sunshine.  Temperatures rise even more for Sunday – near 60° and it looks like the rain is going to hold off until late Sunday night and early Monday morning.  Should be great if you’re heading to the First Four party in Dayton.

Shifting back to winter  – The winter statistics have come out for the 2011-2012 season.  Although it felt mild, Dayton didn’t break any records this season.  It was tied for the 17th warmest winter.  But the one thing I noticed is the snowfall.  As many of you have realized we were below normal for seasonal snowfall – almost 11 inches.

After a relatively mild winter – let’s hope we have a quiet spring.

Tara
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We hit 68° yesterday but wow was it windy!  We ended up seeing wind gusts near 45 miles per hour in portions of the Miami Valley.  Here’s a look at some of the wind gusts from Dayton Int’l Airport.

The winds are pretty gusty this morning out of the southwest but not as strong as they were yesterday.  These winds will eventually change direction to the northwest by the afternoon thanks to a cold front moving through.  Here’s a look at the winds…notice the direction out of the southwest here but switching directions to the northwest around Chicago.  This is one way we can tell where the cold front is located and where it will be in the future.

Not only will we see the winds switch directions but we’ll also see rain from this front.  Here’s a look at our FutureTrac forecast for 1pm.  The rain will stick around for  much of the day today.

It looks like this isn’t going to be a huge rainfall maker however we’ll see a nice amount.

The rain finally comes to an end later this evening.  Look for skies to remain mostly cloudy for the rest of the night – however there may be a few breaks.  If we do see a few breaks head outside to see if you can catch the Northern Lights.  A huge solar storm is heading toward Earth.  Read more about it here.

Temperatures cool slightly for Friday but really drop to normal readings for this time of year.

Tara
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I hope you enjoyed yesterday!  Wow what an amazing day.  There was hardly a cloud in the sky and temperatures soared into the 60′s.  Expect temperatures to stay in the 60′s today but there’s going to be a few more clouds and the winds will be howling.  However like yesterday we’ll stay above normal for the next few days.

While today is going to be mild we’re still several degrees away from a record.  Our record high for today in Dayton is 76° set back in 2000 and 1974.

The reason for our mild temperatures and gusty winds is a cold front which is just to our west.  As this front gets a little closer we’ll see a few more clouds than yesterday.  Winds stay strong out of the southwest but will eventually switch direction once the front moves through tomorrow.

Yesterday in Indy highs reached 69°!  Of course they experienced stronger winds than we had yesterday and are under a wind advisory this morning.  We aren’t going to make wind advisory criteria however “hold onto your hat” or as one of my other peers in Illinois says “skirt alert.”

The front moves through later tonight.  Look for our clouds to increase and toward daybreak the rain chances increase.  Look for showers off and on all day.

Once the front pushes through the Miami Valley late Thursday our winds switch to the northwest and you’ll feel the temperatures drop on Friday.  High return to seasonable readings on Friday but slowly climb back into the 50′s for the weekend.

Tara
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