“It Always Rains at the Fair”

Just back from a visit to the Lawrence County Ohio Fair where budding photojournalist Andrew Colegrove, aspiring news anchor Jennifer Seay and I dodged some raindrops on our afternoon story shoot. We did a neat piece on the Cloverbud 4Hers which you can see on First at Five on Friday.

Kids in 4H and Future Farmers of America will tell you that this morning the air had turned tropically muggy in Proctorville. That’s a fancy way of saying it can/should/did rain in much of the area this July afternoon. Said fair queen Amanda McArthur, “I have been in 4H since junior high and rain or shine, we have a good time in 4H at the fair every year”. I

Old timers like Boyd Meadows and John Marra will tell you, “It always rains at the county fair”. Of course, July being the second wettest month of the year, I add “it’s supposed to rain at the fair’!

Looking ahead, a cold front will bump up against this sticky air and produce more showers and downpours on Wednesday. I look for 2 to 4 hours of rain then with some areas measuring more than an inch of water. Hopefully we get rid of the rain in time for the big country music concerts at the fair on Wednesday night.

As for severe weather on Wednesday, I sense local street flooding and a few power hits from lightning strikes will be scattered in the heavier cells.

That muggy air will be chased off to the south for Thursday, so a respite from the showery pattern is likely.

But for the evening ahead, the afternoon rain action is already off to the east of Proctorville and the late night thunder pattern is not due in until after midnight. So we may well be able to sneak out a “fair night at the fair” where the Ferris Wheel will be spinning, the Midway will be packed with sweethearts and the Trick Cars will fill the grandstand area on a steamy mid summer night.