It’s too early to think about a white Christmas. But it appears north central Ohio is about to get its first significant snowfall of the season — almost a month before winter officially begins.
The National Weather Service office in Cleveland has issued a winter weather advisory for all of northern Ohio in advance of a winter storm that will spread across the state Monday and into Tuesday, dropping between four and six inches of snow before it’s done.
The advisory begins Monday at 4 p.m. and continues until Tuesday at 9 p.m. with snow expected to be pushed by wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour.
It will start as widespread rain on Monday, mixing with snow in northwest Ohio. The rain will transition to snow from west to east across the area late Monday afternoon into Tuesday.
“Confidence is increasing that most of the area will see accumulating snowfall with the potential for significant accumulations in some areas,” the NWS report said.
“A transition to lake-effect snow is expected as the system pulls away Tuesday into Wednesday. Snow accumulations will be impacted by both storm track and temperatures which will continue to evolve over the coming days,” the NWS said.
Here is a look at what’s forecast locally for the next two days:
Monday — Rain and snow showers, becoming all snow after 1 p.m. High near 37. Northwest wind 11 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Monday night — Snow. Low around 28. West wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Tuesday — Snow. High near 30. Breezy, with a west wind 14 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Tuesday night — A chance of snow, mainly before 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
