“Late lies the wintry sun a-bed,
A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;
Blinks but an hour or two; and then,
A blood-red orange, sets again.”
— Robert Louis Stephenson
It’s not likely going to be the massive winter storm that weather experts were predicting for north central Ohio a few days ago.
But one to three inches of snow is expected Wednesday into Thursday, according to meteorologists .
And there is blustery cold air and wind coming behind it.
Welcome to January in Ohio, a state that has four seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.
As of late Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service office in Cleveland issued a “hazardous weather outlook” for the region, an area that includes Richland, Ashland and Knox counties.
That outlook begins Wednesday and runs through Monday.
Here is what we can expect in the next few wintry days.
Tuesday will remain mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. Winds will be from the south around 18 miles an hour with gusts as high as 40.
The low overnight Tuesday will drop only to 34 degrees with a slight chance of rain after 3 a.m.
And then the fun begins.
A strong cold front will enter the state on Wednesday afternoon, quickly changing any remaining rain to snow as the air temperature drops to around 26 by 5 p.m.
A quick inch of snow is possible during the Wednesday evening commute and may cause hazardous travel conditions.
Another inch or two of the white stuff may fall through the night Wednesday and into Thursday as the low drops to around 11 with wind chill values as low as 1-below zero with wind gusts up to 26 miles an hour.
Cold air and elevated northwest winds are expected behind this front on Wednesday night with lows in the teens and wind chills near zero.
Another cold low pressure system will enter for the weekend and into next week. Low temperatures in the single digits and wind chills below zero are possible early Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday mornings.
A chance of snow remains possible for Friday and Saturday.
So keep the snow shovels handy, just in case. Dress warm when you go outside.
And keep in mind — we are just 66 days away from the official start of Spring.