Weather outlook: Pressure, temperature expected to plummet bringing strong winds and cold air

Strong winds are expected to blow through Lorain County today as a weather system sweeps across the Great Lakes and Midwest region. Along with it will come the latest bout of winter weather as temperatures plummet later in the week. West winds are expected to blow between 30 to 40 mph with gusts reaching as fast as 60 mph, according to the National Weather Service's forecast. A high wind warning was issued for Lorain County by the National Weather Service, altering residents to the potential damage posed to surrounding structures and individuals. The high wind warning was put into effect Monday at 4 a.m. and lasts until 1 a.m. Tuesday. "Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles," the weather warning stated. Zach Sescovic, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland, said the winds will be accompanied by colder air. What was causing the high winds and return to colder temperatures, Sescovic said, is a "strong low-pressure system" that has moved across the Midwest through parts of Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, followed by a cold front. "We're going to have a really, really strong cold front that moves through," Sescovic said. "Once we have that cold front move through, that's when a lot of the really strong winds are going to end up starting across our area." Once the cold front crosses over the county, Sescovic said "temperatures are going to drop pretty significantly and then strong winds will enter the area." Due to the impending weather, the Ohio Turnpike released a travel advisory for the entire 241-mile thoroughfare that prohibits all high-profile vehicles. The weather event travel restriction will be in place today until midnight. Vehicles that are prohibited on the turnpike during the travel restriction include tow-behind trailers, campers, boats, and enclosed trailers that exceed a height of 7 feet and 6 inches and commercial trucks towing an empty, single 53-foot box-type trailer. Also prohibited on the turnpike are mobile homes, office trailers, livestock trailers, all long combination vehicles (LCV) with enclosed, double-trailer combinations exceeding 90 feet in length, all LCV triple-trailers, two-axle buses longer than 40 feet and buses greater in length than 45 feet with three or more axles, according to the Ohio Turnpike. The high winds come on the heels of abnormally high temperatures experienced over the weekend. On Sunday, residents in Elyria witnessed temperatures of 60 F — nearly 24 degrees above the average for this time of year, according to U.S. Climate Data. But as the winds sweep through Lorain County and the rest of Northeast Ohio today, colder weather will return. "We're going to have really rapid temperature drops," Sescovic said, adding that temperatures by the morning commute today will "probably be below freezing. … And it's just going to keep on getting colder (on Monday)." According to the National Weather Service's forecast, temperatures were expected to plummet by early morning today with a daily high temparature to be 28 degrees and a daily low to be around 21 degrees. With the high winds, the temperature will feel much colder through the rest of the week. The wind chill — how the temperature actually feels — is expected to remain in the single digits through much of Tuesday morning. With the colder weather will come the chance for snow. Today snow is likely with an accumulation of possibly 1 to 2 inches. But it more than likely will not be on the ground, according to Sescovic. "The winds will certainly blow apart the snowflakes," Sescovic said. "We might have all the ingredients for really, really good snowfall, but, you know, the winds are breaking apart those snow crystals. … It's really tough to get some of that stuff to accumulate." Sescovic said a main concern will be visibility for individuals traveling early in the week. "You might not see a ton of accumulation, but it just might be more impactful from a visibility standpoint," Sescovic said. Contact Garrett Looker at glooker@chroniclet.com.