854 FXUS61 KCLE 051905 AFDCLEArea Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Cleveland OH 305 PM EDT Fri Sep 5 2025
.SYNOPSIS... A trough will linger over the Great Lakes through the weekend. High pressure will gradually build east across the region on Monday and persist into mid-week.
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.NEAR TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... An upper-level trough will remain over the Great Lakes for the near term period, bringing periods of cloudiness, light rain chances, and below average temperatures.
Apart from elevated west to southwest wind gusts of 30 to 35 mph this evening, mainly quiet weather is expected, though can`t rule out a stray shower or two across far NE OH and NW PA with the cold front. Winds will quickly diminish after sunset. By tonight, another piece of jet energy will round the base of the upper-level trough, though the favored area of lift is expected to be just south and southeast of the area. Opted to include some low-end precipitation chances to account for light rain overnight into Saturday morning, though an abundance of dry air below 8-10kft may limit any measurable rain. The better chances for measurable precipitation (steady rain) will be found closer to the OH/PA border Saturday morning.
Colder upper-level air will arrive across the Lower Great Lakes by late Saturday and Saturday night, characterized by 850 mb temperatures falling to around 4 degrees C. Lake effect clouds and rain chances will gradually increase across far NE OH and NW PA Saturday night, particularly in lakeshore areas as surface winds begin to favor a southwesterly direction, increasing surface convergence along the lake/land interface. A few thunderstorms may accompany the more intense lake effect rain bands.
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.SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... Lake effect rain chances will continue for the first half of the short term period, though improving weather conditions are expected to arrive by Monday with high pressure.
A surface trough will swing through the area on Sunday, spreading rain chances further inland across portions of NE OH and NW PA as winds shift towards the west to northwest. The upper- level air mass will continue to gradually cool on Sunday, with 850 mb temperatures reaching around 3 degrees C. Opted to maintain low-end thunderstorm chances on Sunday given steep low and mid-level lapse rates.
High pressure will begin to build east across the Great Lakes Sunday night into Monday, with lake effect rain transitioning over to lake effect clouds given diminishing boundary layer moisture. Sunday night will be chilly across much of the area, as temperatures dip into the lower 40s to perhaps upper 30s under mostly clear skies. At this time, probabilities of temperatures less than 37 degrees F are very low (less than 10%), though can`t rule out some isolated patches of frost across interior northern OH.
Quiet, albeit a little chilly, weather is expected for Monday as high pressure settles in across the area. Temperatures will remain below average in the upper 60s to lower 70s under mostly sunny skies.
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.LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... Quiet weather is favored for the long term period as another area of high pressure builds south across the Great Lakes by mid to late week. Seasonable to slightly above average temperatures in the upper 70s to near 80 are expected for Tuesday and Wednesday. A surface cold front will move south across the area ahead of the building high pressure on Thursday, pushing highs back to below average in the low to mid-70s for Thursday and Friday.
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.AVIATION /18Z Friday THROUGH Wednesday/... VFR conditions are observed areawide this afternoon and are expected to continue through the TAF period. Mid-level clouds will be on the rise through tonight, especially for the eastern half of the forecast with scattered, light rain showers also developing late tonight, mainly east of I-77. Showers are unlikely to produce non-VFR conditions but perhaps ceilings drop to around 5kft for eastern locations.
Southwest to west winds of around 15 to 20 knots with gusts up to 30 knots are expected through sunset today. A rogue gust up to 35 knots (which as already been observed at KTOL) is possible. Winds quiet down substantially after sunset to around 5 knots before picking back up to around 10 knots Saturday afternoon.
Outlook...There is a very low chance of non-VFR ceilings with light rain Saturday morning for far eastern Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania. There is also a low chance of non-VFR with lake effect clouds and rain in Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania on late Saturday night into Sunday.
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.MARINE... West to southwest winds of around 20 to 25 knots are expected to continue on Lake Erie through this evening before diminishing overnight. Small craft advisories and beach hazard statements remain in effect through tonight. Water levels in the western basin have dropped to within 6 inches of the critical mark for safe navigation; however, water levels are likely at their lowest point of the day, and a low water advisory is not expected.
A brief lull is expected Saturday morning before west winds increase to around 15 knots Saturday evening through Sunday as a surface through builds in. Partially onshore flow and brief periods of stronger winds to ~20 knots may be just enough for waves to build to 3-4 feet Saturday evening into Sunday, especially east of Avon Lake, which may require a marginal small craft advisory and beach hazard statement.
High pressure builds in Monday and Tuesday, with conditions improving on Lake Erie.
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.CLE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OH...Beach Hazards Statement through late tonight for OHZ010>012- 089. PA...Beach Hazards Statement through late tonight for PAZ001. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 10 PM EDT this evening for LEZ142>144. Small Craft Advisory until 4 AM EDT Saturday for LEZ145>149.
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SYNOPSIS...Kahn NEAR TERM...Kahn SHORT TERM...Kahn LONG TERM...Kahn AVIATION...Saunders MARINE...Saunders
NWS CLE Office Area Forecast Discussion