Ohio is into the middle of a cloudy, dry Halloween, with overcast skies over the whole state at mid-morning and no hazardous weather anywhere, according to the National Weather Service. There are no watches, warnings or advisories in effect in Ohio, and the National Weather Service alert feed for the state was empty late this morning. Toledo was overcast at 52 degrees, Columbus was overcast at 54, Dayton was overcast at 54, and Cincinnati was overcast at 55, with east winds keeping the late morning feeling cool. Rain chances stay near zero in every region for the rest of today.
Northwest Ohio stays mostly cloudy for the rest of today, with a high near 61 in Toledo and highs in the low 60s around Findlay, Defiance and Lima, according to the National Weather Service. East winds of 10 to 15 mph are the main feature of the afternoon, and the clouds do not bring any rain with them. Travel across the northwest stays easy all day, with no fog, wind or precipitation concerns in the forecast.
Northeast Ohio is also mostly cloudy for the rest of today, with a high near 65 in Cleveland and a high near 64 in Akron and Canton, according to the National Weather Service. East winds of 10 to 15 mph hold along Lake Erie through the afternoon, and Youngstown follows the same gray, dry pattern. The northeast warms a few degrees from its cool morning, but the cloud cover keeps it from feeling warm, and the region stays dry through the evening.
Central Ohio turns mostly cloudy with a high near 65 in Columbus and an east wind around 12 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Southwest Ohio is again the warmest part of the state, with a high near 67 in Dayton and near 69 in Cincinnati, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington. Southeast Ohio follows close behind, with highs near 67 in Athens and near 68 in Portsmouth under the same mostly cloudy skies, and no rain expected anywhere in the south.
Tonight is the part of the forecast that matters most today, and it holds dry for trick-or-treating statewide. Skies stay cloudy after sunset, around 6:30 p.m. in Columbus, with temperatures in the 60s in the south and near 60 in central and northern Ohio for the early evening, falling into the 50s after dark, according to the National Weather Service. Overnight lows settle near 51 in Columbus and Athens, near 52 in Toledo, Cleveland and Cincinnati, and near 52 in Portsmouth. Costumes will not need rain gear, though a layer underneath will help later in the evening, and clocks fall back one hour at 2 a.m. as daylight saving time ends.
Sunday rewards Ohio with that extra hour of sleep and a warm-up under partly sunny skies, according to the National Weather Service. Highs reach near 68 in Toledo, near 70 in Columbus and Dayton, near 71 in Cleveland, near 72 in Cincinnati and Athens, and near 73 in Portsmouth. Most of the state stays dry through the day, and only a slight chance of a shower, about 20 to 30 percent, creeps into parts of central and southern Ohio on Sunday night.
The first days of November stay mild before the pattern turns less settled. Monday brings a slight to low chance of showers, with highs in the low to upper 60s, and Tuesday, Election Day, is partly sunny and warm, with highs in the low to upper 70s across Ohio, according to the National Weather Service. Rain chances then build again Tuesday night, reaching about 30 to 40 percent in many areas. For the rest of this Halloween, though, the story is simple: clouds overhead, dry streets, mild 60s, and no weather worries for trick-or-treaters anywhere in the state.