What's left of Hurricane Isaac is expected to work its way toward the Ohio Valley/Lower Great Lakes region by Sunday, but for now, the National Weather Service office in North Webster, Ind. -- which issues forecasts for as far northeast as Hillsdale, Fulton, and Henry counties -- is predicting the storm's heaviest rainfall will miss northwest Ohio to the south. Its latest Hydrologic Outlook, issued at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, says the heaviest rain is most likely south of a line from Monon, Ind., to Van Wert.
That's pretty much an east-west line that, if extended across Ohio, would roughly follow U.S. 30. The North Webster office says 2 to 4 inches of rain are possible south of that line as Isaac's remnants travel east from central Illinois on Sunday to central Ohio on Tuesday. The forecasters also cautioned that predicting the paths of tropical systems is a chancey proposition -- just ask the folks in south Florida what they think of the Isaac forecasting, right? -- but warned that "people throughout our area should prepare for the heavy rainfall potential."
Showers and thunderstorms remain in the Toledo forecast from Saturday afternoon through Tuesday, with the highest probability of precipitation on Sunday and Monday. So be prepared for wet weather wherever you may be going this weekend, and if the rain gets heavy, be especially alert for the possibility of flash flooding on creeks and streams. Forecasters do not expect even heavy rain to cause significant flooding on the bigger rivers, like the Maumee, because this summer's drought conditions have left their water levels low.
We'll continue to keep an eye on Isaac to see what its potential impact is on the Toledo area.
