Strong wind, rain to follow warmer temperatures

2/10/2009

After a balmy Tuesday, a springlike storm system heading this way could dump more than an inch of rain on soggy ground and in swollen streams by Thursday morning with wind gusts of 50 mph besides.

Rain and strong wind are a near certainty, prompting the National Weather Service to issue flood and high wind watches for much of northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. Flooding was not yet a problem Tuesday evening.

While Tuesday was warm, the high of 59 at 2:33 p.m. at Toledo Express Airport fell shy of the record, 61, set in 1932.

The high Wednesday again is expected to be in the upper 50s, far short of the record 71 set in 1999.