Santa's Bumpy Ride into NW Ohio

As the evening in question arrives, details of tonight's stormy weather are coming into crystal clear focus.

According to this graphical depiction from the Cleveland office of the National Weather Service, 50mph wind gusts, 20-30mph sustained winds, temps falling to the freezing point tonight, thunder, 100% cloud cover, heavy rain and light flurries are all on tap for the next 12-16 hours. 

Santa's about to have a bumpy ride.

NWS Cleveland

While we track forward along with the impending storms, winds continue to pose the greatest threat. With only a few hours of light snow flurries (from 9pm-4am), accumulations are not only unlikely, they're going to be nearly impossible to develop. 

Possible Snow flurries 8pm Wednesday Night: EURO, ECMWF Model

With the absence of widespread slick roadways and treacherous blacktop conditions, wind gusts up to 50mph become the focus of this event. 

Twisterdata.com, Surface Temp, Wind, MSLP: NAM Model

 Law ornaments, decorations, outdoor lights and 8 tiny reindeer statues are at risk of damage and entire removal from your yard. Many Christmas decorations don't weigh much, so make sure your most valuable possessions are brought indoors before the winds pick up. 

Today's timeline looks like this:

• 2pm: Scattered Rain, Light winds
• 4pm: Widespread Rain, Increasing Winds
• 6pm: Heavy rain, Gusty Winds
• 8pm: Scattered Rain, PEAK Winds
• 10pm: Light Rain/Snow Mix, PEAK Winds
• 12am: Flurries, Gusty Winds
• 2am: On/Off Flurries, Gusty Winds
• 4am: Flurries, Gusty Winds
• 6am: On/Off Flurries, Gusty Winds
• 8am: A Few Snow Showers, Blowing/Drifting Snow
• 10am: Snow Ends, Breezy

For most of Christmas Day, winds will range between 15-25mph, staying strong, and conditions will be dry.

Merry Christmas!