Issued: 8am on Thursday, March 19th 2026
Technical Forecast Discussion
Key Messages:
- Temperatures will continue to warm into the weekend as we see a steady climb into the upper-60s to lower-70s by Saturday and Sunday before dropping back down into the 40s on Monday.
- While brief rain showers are possibly throughout the next week, high-pressure will overwhelmingly dominate over the region for the most part, keeping conditions very stable.
Short-Term Forecast (Thursday 03/19/2026 through Saturday 03/21/2026):
High-pressure will remain steady around the state, but regions of low pressure will pop in occasionally into Saturday. Temperatures are expected to continue to rise into the coming days, getting back into the upper-60s by Saturday as a broad trough slowly crawls toward Ohio. With these sporadic lows moving through Thursday and Friday, we may see some brief rain showers Thursday afternoon and Friday evening, but nothing significant. Clouds will be fairly scattered these next few days, so clear skies aren’t likely for the coming days except for a brief Thursday evening. Winds will pick back up on Friday as a weak low passes over the state, but nothing like we saw this past weekend.
Long-Term Forecast (Sunday 03/22/2026 through Wednesday 03/25/2026):
Temperatures will crawl over into the lower-70s by Sunday as the broad ridge aloft weakens significantly and slightly zonal flow settles in. A surface low will pass to the west of us, bringing over a cold front by the end of the day, dropping temperatures back into the 40s by Monday. This cold front will be accompanied by a brief shortwave aloft, which may allow some rain to fall Sunday evening into early Monday morning, but similarly to the short-term, this isn’t expected to be significant. After this cold front moves over the state Sunday, a large swath of high-pressure will fill in rapidly behind it by Monday. Another small trough will briefly move over the state Monday into early Tuesday morning, assisting in cooling temperatures before quickly exiting eastwards to allow a much more prominent ridge to move back over the state.
