Ohio starts Sunday, November 8 under a freeze, then spends the rest of the day under sunshine. The National Weather Service has Freeze Warnings in effect until 10 a.m. for much of southwest, central and south-central Ohio — including the Cincinnati area, Franklin, Pickaway, Ross, Hamilton, Clermont, Brown and Highland counties — with lows as cold as 30 degrees, and for parts of southeast Ohio including Lawrence County, where lows near 31 degrees were expected. Frost was widespread elsewhere early, with patchy frost in Columbus before 8 a.m. and areas of frost around Cincinnati before 9 a.m.
Once the freeze lifts, the statewide picture is simple: sunny skies in every region and highs in the mid to upper 50s, according to the National Weather Service tabular state forecast issued early Sunday by the Wilmington office. It is a dry day everywhere — precipitation chances are zero across the state today — though a southwest breeze will make it feel blustery at times, especially in the north.
In Northwest Ohio, Toledo, Defiance, Findlay and Lima all turn sunny with highs of 56 to 57 degrees. Toledo has the strongest wind in the state today, with southwest winds of 9 to 16 mph gusting as high as 30 mph, per the National Weather Service. Along Lake Erie, a Small Craft Advisory is in effect, with west winds of 15 to 25 knots and waves building to 3 to 5 feet in parts of the lake, so boaters should stay cautious through Monday morning.
Northeast Ohio is sunny as well, with Cleveland, Akron-Canton and Youngstown all reaching about 56 degrees. Cleveland stays breezy, with southwest winds of 14 to 20 mph, the National Weather Service said. The northeast is also the one region where clouds return tonight — Cleveland turns mostly cloudy with a milder low near 47 degrees — and Monday stays mostly cloudy there with highs of only 53 to 54 degrees while the rest of the state stays sunny.
In Central Ohio, Columbus shakes off patchy frost early and climbs to near 57 degrees under sunny skies, with southwest winds gusting as high as 25 mph. Tonight is mostly clear with a low around 40, and Monday brings more sunshine and another high near 57. In Southwest Ohio, Dayton reaches about 58 degrees and Cincinnati about 59, both sunny after morning frost. The Miami Valley and Cincinnati stay sunny Monday, with highs of 59 to 61 degrees.
Southeast and south-central Ohio post some of the day’s warmest readings after the coldest start: Athens, Portsmouth, Jackson and Marietta all reach 59 degrees under sunny skies. The Freeze Warning for the Lawrence County area runs until 10 a.m., and the National Weather Service warns that frost and freeze conditions could kill sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing, so cover plants and protect exposed pipes this morning wherever the warning is in effect.
Tonight’s lows run from the mid-30s in the southwest to the low and mid-40s along Lake Erie, with patchy frost possible again late around Cincinnati. Looking ahead, sunshine holds Monday and Tuesday, and Tuesday is the warmest day of the week — highs of 60 to 66 degrees statewide, peaking around Marietta, Portsmouth and Cincinnati. Clouds increase Wednesday, then rain arrives Thursday with highs falling back into the 47-to-52 range, and Friday turns colder still, with highs only in the low to mid-40s.
Photo: James St. John, CC BY