Ohio’s mild Thursday evening gives way to a cloudier, cooler night, with showers reaching northern Ohio late and no watches, warnings or advisories in effect statewide Thursday evening, according to the National Weather Service. Clouds increase across the state tonight as a mid-level trough crosses the Ohio Valley, bringing a few showers mainly north of Interstate 70 and setting up a noticeably cooler Friday.
In northwest Ohio, tonight stays cloudy with a chance of showers mainly after 4 a.m., a low around 42 near Lake Erie and west winds of 10 to 14 mph. Friday brings showers likely before 11 a.m. and another chance later in the day, mostly cloudy skies, a high near 51 to 53 and west winds of 14 to 16 mph, with amounts generally less than a tenth of an inch.
In northeast Ohio, Akron and the lakeshore stay mostly cloudy tonight with lows around 42 to 44. Friday is the wettest day of the stretch in the northeast, with showers before 3 p.m., an 80 percent chance of rain around Akron, a high near 54 and only light amounts expected. A chance of showers lingers Friday night as lows fall to about 35 to 39, and showers are likely again Saturday morning before skies stay mostly cloudy and breezy.
Central Ohio turns to increasing clouds tonight with a low around 46 in Columbus and light southwest winds becoming calm. Friday brings a 30 percent chance of rain mainly before 11 a.m., then gradual clearing to mostly sunny skies with a high near 55 as winds shift northwest at 5 to 10 mph. Friday night turns partly cloudy and colder, with a low around 38.
In southwest Ohio, Cincinnati sees increasing clouds tonight with a low around 45. Friday stays mostly cloudy and dry in the National Weather Service forecast for the city, with a high near 55 and northwest winds of 5 to 9 mph, then mostly clear skies Friday night with a low around 36. Southeast Ohio follows a similar pattern, with clouds increasing tonight, a cooler and mostly cloudy Friday, and colder air arriving behind the front for the weekend.
Saturday is cooler and breezy statewide, with highs in the low to mid-50s, northwest winds gusting as high as 20 to 25 mph in the north, and a lingering chance of morning showers in the northeast. Saturday night brings the coldest air of the stretch, with lows in the mid-30s in the north and patchy frost after 3 to 4 a.m. in central and southwest Ohio, where lows fall to about 33 to 35.
The payoff arrives Sunday, when patchy morning frost gives way to sunny skies and highs in the mid- to upper 50s. The dry, sunnier pattern holds into the week ahead, with Monday sunny and near 58 to 62, Tuesday sunny and in the low to mid-60s in central and southwest Ohio, and Veterans Day mostly sunny with highs in the mid-50s to near 60. Overnight lows early next week stay in the upper 30s to low 40s, so tender plants that survived Saturday night’s frost risk should still be watched on clear, calm nights.
For travel tonight and Friday, the main impacts are light rain on northern Ohio roads late tonight and Friday morning, breezy west to northwest winds Friday and Saturday, and areas of frost Saturday night into Sunday morning that could leave a slick sheen on untreated bridges before sunrise. Amounts stay light, and the National Weather Service expects no flooding from this system.