'Pretty strong wind': Weather service issues a wind advisory for the northern half of Ohio

Strong wind and chilly rain will pummel the northern half of Ohio from Friday afternoon to early Sunday morning.

Wind gusts are expected to reach at least 55 mph and may blow even faster, according to Karen Clark, a meteorologist who works in the Cleveland office of the National Weather Service.

A weather service wind advisory will be in effect 4 p.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Sunday for the following Ohio counties: Ashland, Ashtabula, Crawford, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Hancock, Holmes, Huron, Knox, Lake, Lorain, Lucas, Mahoning, Marion, Medina, Morrow, Ottawa, Portage, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Wayne, Wood and Wyandot.

"We will be monitoring how this system looks," Clark said. "We may need to upgrade portions of these areas to a high wind warning."

How strong will the wind blow in Ohio?

Ahead of the windstorm, residents should prepare for falling limbs and potential power outages.

"We could see some trees come down," Clark said.

Homeowners are advised to put away any lawn chairs or other loose objects in their yards.

"Secure any Christmas decorations that might still be up," Clark said. "It’s going to be a fairly long duration period of wind - 55 miles per hour is pretty strong wind."

Rain and snow will accompany portions of the storm throughout the entire northern half of Ohio.

"We're looking for between a half inch to an inch of rain on Friday," Clark said. "It's going to lead to saturated ground conditions."

'The coldest air we have seen so far this season'

Friday's high is forecast to be in the mid-40s across northern Ohio, but the nighttime low will drop below freezing, which could lead to snow flurries.

"We are going to be seeing some much colder temperatures arrive for Saturday and into the early part of next week," Clark said.

Saturday's high is forecast at 30 in the Mansfield area.

"We will see a brief transition to snow before the precipitation ends," Clark said. "Not a whole lot of accumulation."

By Sunday afternoon, the high will only be 17.

"Sunday through Tuesday, we're going to be seeing the coldest air we have seen so far this season," Clark said. "High temperatures are generally going to be below 20 degrees or in the teens. Overnight lows are going to generally be in the single digits."

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: The weather service says strong winds and rain coming to northern Ohio