CHILLY FORECAST

Polar vortex bringing cold grip next week

Weather similar to January pattern

7/11/2014
BY MARISSA MEDANSKY
BLADE STAFF WRITER
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  • Put down the Popsicle. The polar vortex is back.

    An upcoming mass of cool air — on its way to the Great Lakes from the Gulf of Alaska — is set to bring unseasonably low temperatures to northwest Ohio next week.

    It’s a phenomenon not unlike January’s chill-inducing polar vortex, when a pocket of cold air brought frigid temperatures to the northern United States.

    Temperatures won’t dip as drastically as they did earlier this year, but airflow patterns for next week resemble those from the January vortex.

    That makes the impending chilliness a polar vortex, “depending on your definition,” said senior AccuWeather meteorologist Dave Dombeck.

    Call it what you want, it’ll get chilly either way.

    For the week starting Monday, AccuWeather predicts average highs of 77.9 and lows of 58.1 degrees. Of those seven days, Tuesday likely will be chilliest, when temperatures could drop as low as 53. That day’s high might not even hit 70, said 13abc Chief Meteorologist Jay Berschback.

    That might not seem too cold, especially when compared to winter’s sub-zero temperatures. But “you gotta put things in perspective,” Mr. Dombeck said, noting that a normal day next week would typically reach highs of 85 and lows of 63, based on past years of data.

    This year, temperatures could drop 15 degrees below those averages, he said.

    “If you’re the owner of a pool, that’s bad news.”

    For the rest of us, though, next week’s weather could be a welcome respite from recent heat and humidity.

    Judd Silverman, founder and director of the upcoming Marathon Classic LPGA tournament at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, said he “couldn't be happier” about the forecast.

    Past tournaments have seen “hot and humid” weather, but the cool air will provide more optimal conditions for the golfers, who compete July 17 to 20.

    And the unusual weather will be “short-lived,” Mr. Berschback said.

    It should warm up toward the end of the week.

    And don’t expect the upcoming chill to break any records.

    Toledo’s coldest July 15 on record, back in 1987, reached a low of 48.

    That’s five degrees cooler than Tuesday’s forecast.

    Information from the Washington Post was used in this report.

    Contact Marissa Medansky at: mmedansky@theblade.com or 419-724-6368.