Ohio voters could not ask for a better Election Day forecast. The National Weather Service expects sunshine and near-record warmth across the state on Tuesday, November 3, with afternoon highs in the middle and upper 70s, dry skies in every region, and no watches, warnings or advisories in effect anywhere in Ohio early Tuesday morning.
The warmth is well out of season for early November. The weather service forecasts a high near 79 in Cincinnati, near 77 in Columbus and Dayton, near 76 in Toledo, Cleveland and Athens, and near 75 in Youngstown. Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Cleveland said some areas would flirt with record-setting warmth on Tuesday.
In the northwest, Toledo starts the day mostly cloudy before skies turn mostly sunny, with a high near 76 and south winds gusting as high as 25 miles per hour. Northeast Ohio follows the same pattern: morning clouds around Cleveland give way to mostly sunny skies and a high near 76, while Youngstown turns sunny with a high near 75 under lighter south winds.
Central and southwest Ohio get the sunniest version of the day. Columbus and Dayton are both forecast sunny with highs near 77, and Cincinnati leads the state near 79 under sunny skies and south winds of 5 to 10 miles per hour. In the southeast, Athens is sunny with a high near 76, making Tuesday a fine day to be outdoors anywhere from the Lake Erie shore to the Ohio River.
Tonight stays mild for voters and workers heading home after dark. Most of Ohio holds in the lower 60s overnight, with partly to mostly cloudy skies in Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo. The Mahoning Valley runs cooler, with Youngstown falling to near 50 under mostly clear skies, and the first hint of change reaches the southwest late tonight, where the weather service puts a chance of showers and thunderstorms around Cincinnati and Dayton after about 2 to 3 a.m.
That change arrives in full on Wednesday. Rain is likely statewide, with the chance of precipitation at 90 to 100 percent in many areas. Cincinnati could see 1 to 2 inches of rain with showers and thunderstorms, Dayton three quarters to 1 inch, Columbus a half to three quarters of an inch, and Cleveland and Toledo a quarter to a half inch, with winds gusting to 25 to 30 miles per hour. Eastern Ohio stays drier a little longer, with Youngstown near 77 on Wednesday before rain moves in that night.
Thursday brings the cooldown back toward the season. Rain ends early in western and central Ohio, where skies turn mostly sunny with highs in the middle and upper 60s, while rain lingers into Thursday morning in the east before clearing. Anyone traveling Wednesday should plan for wet roads, gusty winds and possible ponding in heavier downpours, especially in the southwest. Until then, Tuesday is the pick of the week: dry, sunny and warm from morning through the close of voting.