MORE: High winds cause damage, power outages throughout Miami Valley area
The unusually strong weather front, which at times included driving rain, topped off a December that saw warmer-than-normal daily temperatures that weather officials said will continue through this week until more winter-like conditions are predicted to return by Monday.
“A low-pressure system moved through the area Monday and it was a brief period of very gusty winds,” said Kristen Cassady, meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Wilmington.
According to NWS officials, short incidents of wind gusts in some parts of the Ohio Valley region reached up to 70 mph early Monday.
Locally, the high winds contributed to the downing of power lines on a portion of School Road in Butler County’s Ross Twp., forcing a rerouting of traffic for a few hours until about 11 a.m., said officials with the Butler County Engineer’s office.
Power outages Monday from the winds affected about 300 residences in central Butler County with most occurring in Middletown, Fairfield and New Miami, according to Duke Energy.
Monday afternoon saw southwest winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts in the 30 to 40 mph range.
Propelling the windy weather front through Butler County and the surrounding region was a low-pressure system that brought heavy rain prompting a flood advisory on Sunday for the area.
The chance of snow showers for New Year’s Eve is about 20 percent, with sunny skies forcast for New Year’s Day and a high temperature of 43 degrees.
Overall, temperatures this December have trended toward warmer but not record-breaking levels, said Cassady.
The average daily temperature this month through Sunday was 40.2 degrees, about 6 degrees above normal, she said. So far it has been the 19th warmest December for the Greater Cincinnati area in the last 148 years of weather record keeping.
Temperatures will rise again toward the end of the week and through the weekend, returning to daytime highs in the mid 40s and low 50s.
“What we are seeing so far this month is a lot of cold air fronts being held up in Canada and Alaska but it does look like we are headed into a trend of cooler temperatures early next week,” said Cassady, with more seasonal highs in the upper 30s and overnight lows in the 20s.
According to the National Weather Service the forecast for New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and later this week is:
: A high of 38 degrees during the day with a slight chance of snow showers and a low of 29 degrees overnight.
Wednesday: Sunny with a high of 43 degrees and clear in the evening with temperatures dropping to 33 degrees.
Thursday: Partly sunny with a 40 percent chance of rain during the daytime with a high of 50 degrees. Overnight will bring a 70 percent chance of showers and a low of 43 degrees.
Friday: Daytime temperatures will climb again to about 56 degrees with a 60 percent chance of rain.
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