Chilly December In Store For Ohio, NWS Says

STRONGSVILLE, OH — December is going to be cold, very cold, according to the National Weather Service's new 30-day forecast.

A "major" pattern change will result in some cold weather for the weeks to come, the NWS says. The longwave pattern change is likely to occur during the first week of December, the organization estimates.

"Following a mild start to December, this major pattern change is likely to usher in outbreak of below to much-below normal temperatures at least through mid-December," according to the 30-day outlook, which was released Thursday.

Both the European and U.S. computer models are in agreement that the pattern shift "strongly favors" below-normal temperatures across the Eastern United States, the NWS says.

"A cold front, associated with the onset of the major pattern change is expected to result in precipitation amounts of 0.5 to 2 inches across the Eastern United States during the first week of December," the monthly outlook says.

A three-month forecast shows that the majority of days between December 2017 and February 2018 will be at or below 29.2 degrees.

Luckily, the first week of December won't be so bad. Temperatures will remain in the mid-50s over the next five or so days, before dropping into the low-30s by next Wednesday.

However, Monday night could be the beginning of persistent rain showers that will gradually turn into snow. The NWS is currently calling for snow showers on Wednesday and into Wednesday night.

A detailed, day-by-day forecast from the NWS is below.

• Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 50. .
• Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 34. .
• Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 47.
• Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 36.
• Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54.
• Monday Night: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a low around 48. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.
• Tuesday: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 54. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.
• Tuesday Night: Rain showers likely before 1am, then snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.
• Wednesday: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent.
• Wednesday Night: Snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.
• Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32.

PHOTO: NWS