Issued: 8pm on Sunday, February 22nd 2026
Technical Forecast Discussion
Key Messages:
- Stable conditions to follow after Sunday’s nor’easter travels up the east coast as precipitation chances fall into the start of the work week.
- Rain will likely return Thursday afternoon as a shortwave and low moves through the region. Stable conditions will follow Friday into Saturday.
- Temperatures will warm up beginning on Tuesday, and may possibly reach the near-60 on Saturday.
Short-Term Forecast (Sunday 02/22/2026 through Tuesday 02/24/2026):
The major nor’easter that brought Ohio some snow will rapidly make its way out of the region overnight. While temperatures are still expected to be quite chilly these next couple of days as a trough continues to dig over the state, we’ll see a minor warming trend starting Tuesday. This trough will push eastward, barely putting primarily western Ohio downstream of this broad ridge before a shortwave develops over Michigan. Even though this shortwave isn’t directly over Ohio, it will block significantly warmer temperatures from this ridge to propagate into the state, keeping chillier temperatures in the region. Thankfully, snow and other precipitation chances will dissipate significantly overnight as high-pressure slowly fills in behind this nor’easter. Clouds will remain into midday Monday before dwindling slightly by the evening and into Tuesday. Conditions Monday and Tuesday are expected to continue being stable into the first half of the long-term.
Long-Term Forecast (Wednesday 02/25/2026 through Saturday 02/28/2026):
While there is a chance for some snow flurries early Wednesday morning, confidence remains quite low that any precipitation falls during this time. While precipitable water content does exist, it’s very minimal, and if anything were to precipitate, it likely would be very light and could even evaporate before hitting the ground as the surface and near surface could be relatively dry. We’ll see warmer temperatures through the latter half of the week thanks to a couple of warm fronts and a strong jet developing above Ohio Friday and Saturday. Prior, a stronger shortwave will develop and move over Ohio through Thursday before dissipating early Friday morning. This shortwave will be accompanied by a low moving northeastward with moisture moving in from the south to enhance this expected precipitation. Thankfully, stable conditions will return once more Friday, as previously stated, as zonal conditions and high-pressure develops. Temperatures will continue to warm moving into next weekend, and we may see temperatures jump to near-60 on Saturday.
