Columbus Weather: Tornado Watch in effect for parts of eastern Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — The Tornado Warning for Licking County has expired.

ALERT THIS EVENING: Showers and thunderstorms may become strong to severe during the late-afternoon and evening Tuesday. Remain #WeatherAware as the storms move across the state, especially between 5pm and 1am. Damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes are possible with this system. More storms Wednesday afternoon and evening.

TUESDAY NIGHT (ALERT): overcast, scattered strong storms, some severe, stay weather aware, low 63.

WEDNESDAY (PM ALERT): partly cloudy and warm, chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms in the late afternoon and evening, some storms may be strong to severe, high 84.

THURSDAY: scattered showers and thunderstorms, windy, cooler, high 74.

FRIDAY: scattered showers in the morning, clearing in the afternoon, windy, cooler, high 63.

SATURDAY: mainly cloudy, scattered rain showers, breezy, high 66.

SUNDAY: rain showers in the morning, mostly cloudy becoming partly cloudy, high 69.

MONDAY: mostly cloudy, scattered rain showers, high 73.

TUESDAY: mostly cloudy, chance of showers, high 77.

ALSO | Radar | Maps | View, Share Weather Photos

Portions of the state including Columbus are under a TORNADO WATCH throughout the evening hours, the National Weather Service said.

A line of showers and thunderstorms is moving into Western Ohio at midday. Showers and thunderstorms will get into the Columbus Metro area by mid-afternoon. Some storms may include heavy downpours and gusty winds. A cold front is still positioned farther to the west, in the Mississippi River Valley.

Another round of showers and thunderstorms is likely to arrive during the evening Tuesday. Some of those storms may be strong-to-severe with gusty winds, large hail, and the potential for tornadoes. The Storm Prediction Center has Central Ohio at an Enhanced Risk (Level 3 of 5) for severe storms and says, “The stronger storms (i.e., supercells) will be potentially capable of a large to very large hail threat, in addition to several tornadoes (perhaps a few which may be strong).” The chance for tornadoes is upwards of 10% or more (that’s pretty high). We will remain vigilant through the evening as these storms develop and roll across the state.

The cold front itself arrives Wednesday morning, racing across the region. But another storm system rolls into the Mississippi River Valley by Wednesday evening, pushing a new round of showers and thunderstorms across most of the state. Some of Wednesday’s storms may also be strong to severe, however, the biggest threats will be gusty winds and hail. The chance for tornadoes is much lower and confined to the southern corner of the state, but we will, again, remain vigilant.

Low pressure pushes through Ohio on Thursday with another batch of showers and thunderstorms, on and off, throughout the day. Temperatures will be much cooler, in the mid 70s, and gusty winds are likely. As the system moves toward the East Coast Friday morning, showers will taper off briefly.

Our respite from the wet weather is very brief. Low pressure moves through the Great Lakes during the weekend. Scattered showers will be likely again on Saturday and Sunday. High pressure attempts to build into the region on Monday and Tuesday, however, a disturbance rolling through the Great Lakes may be enough to generate a new platoon of scattered rain showers.