Columbus and Central Ohio Weather

QUICK WEATHER FORECAST:

• Today: Warm, windy, high 78
• Tonight: Windy, rain showers, low 56
• Thursday: Steady then falling temps, windy, daytime high 60
• Friday: AM showers, then mostly cloudy and cool, high 46
• Saturday: Mostly cloudy, rain later, high 55
• Sunday: Early AM showers, then clearing & cool, high 53

FORECAST DISCUSSION:

Good afternoon and happy Wednesday!

Warm, windy conditions are moving in ahead of rain.

As a warm front continues to lift north and a strong cold front builds to the west, winds will pick up out of the south. Gusts at times will reach 40-50 mph, which is already triggering wind advisories and fire weather warnings. The southerly shift in the wind also means a fast climb on the thermometer. Highs today will reach the mid to upper 70s, which is about 20 degrees above normal for this time of year, but still about 5 degrees shy of the record, which is 82 set in 1986 and tied in 1998.

This evening and overnight, the cold front will move through the area. As a result, rain and even a few thunderstorms will build into Central Ohio. Wind gusts will stay strong and around 40-45 mph, so wind advisories will continue until Thursday morning.

Temperatures will stay warm Wednesday night into Thursday, and so will the showers. Thursday's temperatures will stay steady in the mid 50 s to around 60 degrees.

Thursday night into Friday, we'll see a few more showers as temperatures fall down to the mid 30s. Showers will stick around through Friday morning and taper off in the afternoon as high pressure starts to move in.

This will lead to a chilly but sunny start to the weekend. Saturday's temperatures will start off around 30 degrees, then rise to the mid 50s, which is right in line with normal for this time of year. Another round of showers moves in Saturday night, but moves out Sunday.

Have a great day!

-Liz