Newly formed tropical storm may bring rain to Ohio

QUICK WEATHER FORECAST:

• Today: Mostly sunny, high 81
• Tonight: Clear and cool, low 54
• Tuesday: Sunny & warmer, high 84 (58)
• Wednesday: Mainly sunny, high 89 (61)
• Thursday: Sunny & hot, high 90 (63)
• Friday: Partly cloudy, high 85 (64)

FORECAST DISCUSSION:

At 11 am EDT this morning the National Hurricane Center named Tropical Storm Francine in the Gulf of Mexico. This is only the sixth names storm this year, and we are currently in the peak of hurricane season. We are keeping our eye on Francine because it may bring some much needed rain showers by the weekend.

Today we will see plenty of sunshine across central Ohio. Temperatures will top of in the low 80s. This is near average for this time of year. There will be a slight breeze from the west as the afternoon goes on.

The mainly clear skies will continue into the night. It will not be as chilly. Lows will fall to the low-mid 50s. Winds will be light as well. Overall it will be very quiet.

Tomorrow some central Ohioans may experience effect of smokey skies as wildfires continue to burn in the northwestern United States and Canada. We'll see mostly sunny skies with some haze most likely by the evening. Highs will be in the mid 80s.

Temperatures will continue to warm up as the week goes on. Our highs will return to the upper 80s to low 90s by this upcoming Wednesday and Thursday. The entire work week does not bring any decent rain chances to central Ohio worsening drought conditions. The arrival of the remnants from Francine this weekend is our best chance for rain this weekend.