317  
FXUS61 KCLE 301920  
AFDCLE  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH  
320 PM EDT THU JUL 30 2026  
   
WHAT HAS CHANGED
 
 
ADDED A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR A FEW SHOWERS ACROSS INLAND NORTHEAST  
AND NORTH CENTRAL OHIO FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THE RAINFALL FORECAST  
THIS WEEKEND HAS TRENDED UP SOMEWHAT, MAINLY LATE SATURDAY INTO  
EARLY SUNDAY. THE SYSTEM HAS ALSO TRENDED SLIGHTLY SLOWER.  
 

 
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
1) TRANQUIL AND PLEASANT CONDITIONS THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY.  
 
2) OCCASIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE  
ACROSS THE AREA THIS WEEKEND, ESPECIALLY LATE SATURDAY INTO  
EARLY SUNDAY. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE WHERE ANY  
REPEATED OR TRAINING THUNDERSTORMS OCCUR.  
 
3) SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES NEXT WEEK WITH MINOR RAIN CHANCES.  
 

 
   
DISCUSSION
 
 
KEY MESSAGE 1...  
TEMPERATURES TREND SEVERAL DEGREES WARMER FOR FRIDAY AS WE GET  
INTO RETURN FLOW BEHIND THE DEPARTING HIGH PRESSURE, REACHING  
THE MID TO UPPER 80S ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA. STILL CARRYING  
PATCHY FOG ACROSS INTERIOR PORTIONS OF THE AREA EAST OF I-71  
LATE TONIGHT INTO EARLY FRIDAY DUE TO FAVORABLE RADIATIONAL  
COOLING CONDITIONS. ANY FOG SHOULD BE CONFINED TO THE TYPICAL  
LESS URBAN, LOWER-LYING AREAS. DRY WEATHER IS LARGELY FAVORED TO  
PERSIST THROUGH AT LEAST EARLY SATURDAY ACROSS MUCH OF THE  
AREA. DO HAVE A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS MENTIONED FRIDAY  
AFTERNOON ACROSS PORTIONS OF INTERIOR NORTHERN OHIO. DAYTIME  
HEATING MAY YIELD JUST ENOUGH INSTABILITY FOR A FEW SHOWERS TO  
TRY DEVELOPING AS A LAKE BREEZE PUSHES INLAND.  
 
KEY MESSAGE 2...  
MAIN FOCUS CONTINUES TO BE AN UPPER TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED  
SURFACE LOW THAT WILL DIVE ACROSS THE WESTERN/SOUTHERN GREAT  
LAKES AND NORTHERN OHIO VALLEY THIS WEEKEND. THE SURFACE LOW IS  
EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST AND PULL A COLD FRONT ACROSS THE LOCAL  
AREA DURING THE DAY SUNDAY. MODELS AND ENSEMBLES STILL SHOW  
SOME SPREAD AMONG THE FINER DETAILS, BUT ARE BEGINNING TO  
CONVERGE ON A SOLUTION. THERE HAS BEEN A MODEST TREND TO SHOW A  
MORE AMPLIFIED TROUGH, LEADING TO A SLIGHTLY SLOWER AND STRONGER  
SURFACE LOW THAT TRACKS A BIT FARTHER NORTHWEST. OVERALL, THIS  
LEADS TO AN INCREASE IN THE RAINFALL FORECAST ACROSS THE AREA  
AND LEADS TO THE CHANCES FOR RAIN ON SUNDAY TRENDING HIGHER AS  
THE COLD FRONT CROSSES THE AREA SLOWER.  
 
OVERALL, SOME SHOWERS MAY GRAZE NORTHWEST OHIO AND PERHAPS LAKE  
ERIE AND ADJACENT LAKESHORE COUNTIES FARTHER EAST LATE FRIDAY  
NIGHT OR EARLY SATURDAY MORNING AS WARM AIR AND MOISTURE  
ADVECTION BEGINS INCREASING AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING SYSTEM.  
RAIN POTENTIAL RAMPS UP FROM WEST TO EAST SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY  
NIGHT...IT STILL LOOKS LIKE EASTERN OH INTO PA MAY BE DRY FOR  
MOST OF THE DAY SATURDAY DUE TO A DRIER EASTERLY LOW-LEVEL FLOW,  
PARTICULARLY WITH THE SYSTEM TRENDING A BIT SLOWER. RAIN  
POTENTIAL IS EXPECTED TO PEAK LATE SATURDAY INTO EARLY SUNDAY  
WHEN WE GET INTO THE MOST FAVORABLE REGION FOR LARGE-SCALE LIFT  
JUST AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING SHORTWAVE AND SURFACE LOW. WITH  
THE SYSTEM TRENDING A BIT SLOWER, THE EXPECTED DRYING TREND FROM  
THE NORTHWEST SUNDAY INTO SUNDAY NIGHT HAS TRENDED A BIT SLOWER  
AS WELL. WE SHOULD SEE A GRADUAL DRYING TREND BY SUNDAY NIGHT,  
THOUGH THE DAY SUNDAY HAS TRENDED MORE UNSETTLED/WETTER OVERALL.  
 
THE COMBINATION OF WEAK MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES (<6.0C/KM) AND  
FAIRLY LIMITED HEATING WILL KEEP A LID ON HOW MUCH INSTABILITY  
CAN DEVELOP THIS WEEKEND, MEANING SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL  
SHOULD BE ON THE LOW SIDE. THE TREND FOR A MORE AMPLIFIED  
SYSTEM IN RECENT GUIDANCE DOES ALLOW DEEP-LAYER SHEAR TO  
INCREASE MODESTLY (TO AROUND 30KT) SUNDAY, AND THE SLOWER TREND  
MAY GIVE TIME FOR A BIT MORE INSTABILITY TO BUILD AHEAD OF THE  
CROSSING FRONT. SO, WE'LL MONITOR TRENDS FOR A LOWER-END SEVERE  
RISK ACROSS OUR EASTERN/SOUTHEASTERN COUNTIES SUNDAY. AS  
PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES INCREASE TO NEARLY 2.00" LATE SATURDAY  
INTO SUNDAY AMID SKINNY INSTABILITY PROFILES, RAINFALL RATES  
WITHIN ANY CONVECTION WILL BECOME QUITE EFFICIENT. THE MODEST  
TREND FOR A MORE AMPLIFIED SYSTEM DOES INCREASE POTENTIAL FOR  
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN ACROSS PARTS OF THE AREA, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN  
LATE SATURDAY AND EARLY SUNDAY. WE'LL NEED TO MONITOR FOR ANY  
LOCATIONS THAT SEE TRAINING OR REPEATED CONVECTION FOR LOCALIZED  
HEAVY RAIN/FLOODING CONCERNS. THE AREA HAS DRIED OUT RECENTLY,  
SO THE RAIN SHOULD LARGELY BE MORE BENEFICIAL THAN HARMFUL.  
 
HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM THE UPPER 70S TO MID 80S THIS  
WEEKEND (WARMER SATURDAY), WITH OVERNIGHT LOWS AND HUMIDITY  
LEVELS TRENDING UP FROM THE LAST FEW DAYS.  
 
KEY MESSAGE 3...  
THERE IS SOME UNCERTAINTY REGARDING HOW QUICKLY OUR WEEKEND  
SYSTEM EXITS. MOST MODELS AND ENSEMBLE MEMBERS HAVE A QUICK EXIT  
BY SUNDAY NIGHT OR EARLY MONDAY...THE GFS CUTS OFF A PORTION OF  
THE WEEKEND SYSTEM, WITH THAT CUT-OFF LOW THEN LINGERING EARLY  
NEXT WEEK ACROSS THE REGION. THE GFS IS VIEWED AS AN OUTLIER,  
BUT THAT OVERALL EVOLUTION DOES CONTAIN SOME UNCERTAINTY.  
THE FAVORED SOLUTION IS MORE SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES AND LARGELY  
DRY WEATHER FOR THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK, BUT THE FORECAST  
DOES CONTAIN SOME LOWER POPS DUE TO SOME UNCERTAINTY REGARDING  
HOW QUICKLY THE WEEKEND SYSTEM EXITS, AND DUE TO SOME  
UNCERTAINTY REGARDING HOW QUICKLY HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN AND  
CLEARS OUT SOME OF THE LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE. AS RIDGING BUILDS  
ACROSS THE WESTERN AND SOUTHERN U.S. LATE NEXT WEEK A MORE  
UNSETTLED WEST-NORTHWEST FLOW MAY TRY DEVELOPING ACROSS THE  
GREAT LAKES. OVERALL CONFIDENCE IN ANY SHOWER/STORM CHANCES THE  
SECOND HALF OF NEXT WEEK IS QUITE LOW THIS FAR OUT.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /18Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/
 
 
VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD WITH  
OCCASIONAL AFTERNOON CUMULUS CLOUDS TODAY AND UPPER-LEVEL  
CIRRUS TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. NORTH WINDS THIS AFTERNOON BECOME  
LIGHT AND VARIABLE TONIGHT AND TOMORROW.  
 
OUTLOOK...NON-VFR CONDITIONS IN SCATTERED SHOWERS AND  
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY.  
 

 
   
MARINE
 
 
QUIET WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ON LAKE ERIE AS HIGH  
PRESSURE BUILD ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH FRIDAY. LOW PRESSURE  
MOVING ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY WILL PRODUCE EAST FLOW SATURDAY  
EVENING INTO SATURDAY NIGHT, BECOMING NORTHERLY BY SUNDAY.  
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MAY IMPACT LAKE ERIE AT TIMES SATURDAY  
AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY NIGHT.  
 
WIND SPEEDS ARE UNLIKELY TO EXCEED 20 KNOTS BUT THE LATEST NBM  
IS FORECASTING A MEANINGFUL CHANCE OF WAVES IN THE 3-5 FT RANGE  
(20-40% CHANCE OF OCCURRENCE) SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY  
NIGHT, PARTICULARLY FOR THE CENTRAL BASIN OF LAKE ERIE. WILL  
NEED TO MONITOR FOR POTENTIAL HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS TO SWIMMERS  
AND SMALL CRAFT ON LAKE ERIE DURING THIS PERIOD.  
 

 
   
CLE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
OH...NONE.  
PA...NONE.  
MARINE...NONE.  
 

 
 

 
 
DISCUSSION...SULLIVAN  
AVIATION...SAUNDERS  
MARINE...SAUNDERS  
 
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