‘Omega block’ keeps NE Ohio locked in sunshine: Here’s when rain may return

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Northeast Ohio’s stretch of warm, sunny days isn’t going anywhere just yet — and rain chances may not return until late in the weekend.

The reason? A kink in the jet stream known as an “Omega block” has locked the region into a stagnant pattern. The setup is keeping skies clear, temperatures seasonable, and any approaching storm systems either deflected into Canada or weakened before they reach the Great Lakes.

Omega blocks get their name because the upper air pattern looks like the Greek letter Omega, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . The pattern includes a combination of two cutoff lows — one in the western U.S., and another in the east — with one blocking high sandwiched between them.

For Northeast Ohio, the Omega pattern means we’