Every day of the world, the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, issues severe-weather forecasts. They look at the jet stream, the surface conditions, the fronts and drylines, the low-pressure centers, and all the other ingredients that are required to cook up some severe storms. Then the crank out a map that shows where they think the worst weather will be that day.
On the map, they assign categories: "slight," "moderate," and "high." The categories refer to the risk of severe weather that day. We see the "slight" category show up on the maps almost every day during the summer. The region is usually outlined in green because while it's a significant risk, the severe weather events are not likely to be widespread. A "moderate" risk means the storms are more likely to be widespread and could produce some more serious damage.
Personally, I can only think of a handful of times that I've seen the SPC issue a map showing a red, "high" risk region and I don't remember ever seeing one that included parts of Ohio. I've seen it for Tornado Alley and parts of the Great Plains, but it's very, very rare for our neck of the woods. With the "high" risk category, the SPC is expecting very concentrated storms and a significant likelihood of strong tornadoes or other damaging wind events and significant potential for damage.
Today's weather is very unusual for this time of year and for this region of the United States. We'll keep you updated on air and online as best we can! Batten down the hatches and hang in there!
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