Ohio starts Saturday under a Dense Fog Advisory in the northwest, then turns sunny and dry statewide. The National Weather Service in Cleveland issued the advisory at 2:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. this morning for Hancock, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca, Wood and Wyandot counties, with visibility of one quarter mile or less in dense fog and hazardous driving conditions possible. Fog was also reported early this morning in parts of southeastern Ohio, including around Athens, before skies began to clear.
Once the morning fog lifts, high pressure keeps the rest of Saturday dry across the state, with no rain expected in any region. Afternoon highs reach the mid-60s in the north and the upper 60s to around 70 degrees in central, southwestern and southeastern Ohio, with light east to northeast winds. It is a fall Saturday built for outdoor plans after a slow, careful start on foggy roads.
In northwestern Ohio, Toledo begins the day in fog under the advisory, with morning clouds giving way to sunshine by midday and a high near 65 degrees. Tonight turns mostly clear with a low near 41. In northeastern Ohio, Cleveland is sunny today with a high near 65, then clear tonight. The Canton area follows the same pattern, with sunshine and highs in the mid-60s.
Central Ohio is sunny in Columbus with a high near 69 degrees and light east-northeast winds, turning clear tonight with a low near 42. Southwestern Ohio is the warmest part of the state, with sunshine around Cincinnati and Wilmington, a high near 70, and a mostly clear night with a low near 41. In southeastern Ohio, Athens shakes off its morning fog for sunshine and a high near 69, then clears tonight with a low near 40.
Tonight is clear to mostly clear statewide, with lows in the low 40s in most areas. Sunday stays dry and sunny to mostly sunny, and it turns a little warmer, with highs near 68 in Cleveland, 69 in Athens, 70 in Columbus, and 71 in Toledo and the Cincinnati area. Sunday night is mostly clear to partly cloudy, still dry, as high pressure shifts northeast of the Ohio Valley.
The extended outlook stays mild to start the week before the pattern changes. The Weather Service in Wilmington expects the state to stay dry through Sunday evening despite clouds increasing from the southwest, then rain chances increase late Sunday night into Monday and persist into much of next week as an upper-level trough moves into the eastern United States. Forecast confidence is low, but periods of rain are likely in many areas, temperatures trend near to slightly below normal, and no snow is currently in the forecast for Ohio heading toward Halloween.
For travel this morning, drivers in the advisory area should slow down, use headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead, because visibility can drop rapidly where dense fog forms. The fog lifts by mid-morning, leaving the rest of the weekend dry for travel, football and fall events across Ohio.