Strong or severe storms are possible with storm system moving into Ohio and Pennsylvania this weekend

(WKBN) – A strong wave of low pressure will sweep through our area this afternoon. This storm system will produce showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms may be strong or severe.

This storm system will help create multiple clusters of showers and storms out and ahead of the cold front. These clusters will produce heavy rain and frequent lightning. Additionally, these storms will have the potential to produce damaging wind gusts and large hail. Isolated storms may rotate with a higher tornado potential in some locations across the lower Great Lakes.

Where is the storm currently?

The storm system is currently over the Great Lakes and will move towards our area this afternoon. Showers and storms are drifting east with the storm. You can see where the rain and storms are right now on Youngstown Weather Radar.

The video loop below shows the storm system moving towards the Valley:

When can we expect storms to start locally?

The clearing skies will result in a build up of heat and humidity by this afternoon. The approaching cold front will result in the formation of showers and thunderstorms across our area after 3 PM. The Storm Team 27 Future Tracker shows the formation and progression of the storms:

Storm Team 27 Future Tracker showing showers and thunderstorms this afternoon.

The thunderstorms this afternoon will have the ability to tap into strong upper level winds and those strong winds could be brought down to the surface by the heavy rain. Below is the future wind gust model for this afternoon:

Storm Team 27 Future Tracker wind gusts for this afternoon.

The highest risk for severe weather will be flooding and damaging wind gusts. There has been heavy rainfall across the area over the past couple of weeks and these storms will have the ability to produce additional rain. There will also be the possibility for large hail with these thunderstorms. There is a small risk of a tornado with a thunderstorm this afternoon, but it is certainly not the highest risk we are tracking.

Severe threat forecast for this afternoon.

You can see any active Weather Alerts or Warnings close to home here.

Due to the threat of severe thunderstorms this afternoon, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Oklahoma has placed the Valley in a level 3 out of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms this afternoon.