Ohio heads into Sunday night split in two, and which half you live in decides tonight’s weather. Across central, southwest and southeast Ohio, skies stay clear, winds fade, and temperatures fall fast enough for frost before sunrise Monday. Across the north, a weak cold front brushing by brings increasing clouds, a gusty northwest wind, and even a few scattered showers in far northeast Ohio late tonight, according to the National Weather Service. Early-evening readings were still in the low to mid-50s statewide, but none of that mildness lasts overnight.
In Northeast Ohio, Cleveland turns mostly cloudy tonight with a low around 44 degrees and northwest winds around 17 mph gusting as high as 30 mph, the National Weather Service in Cleveland said. That front could bring a few scattered rain showers to far northeast Ohio and lake-effect clouds overnight into Monday. On Lake Erie, a Small Craft Advisory remains in effect until 3 p.m. Monday near Cleveland, so boaters should expect rough water into Monday. Northwest Ohio is calmer: Toledo turns clear with a low near 39, while Findlay sees increasing clouds, a low around 38, and gusts to 24 mph this evening.
The clear half of the state is where frost does its work tonight. The National Weather Service in Wilmington has a Frost Advisory in effect from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday for central, south-central and southwest Ohio — including Franklin, Pickaway, Ross, Hamilton, Clermont, Brown, Highland, Adams, Pike and Scioto counties — where temperatures as low as 35 degrees will form frost that could harm sensitive vegetation. Columbus turns mostly clear with a low around 40 degrees and patchy frost after 3 a.m., and Cincinnati falls to near 37 to 38 degrees under clear skies with patchy frost late.
Southeast Ohio gets the coldest reading in the advisory area. A separate Frost Advisory from the National Weather Service in Charleston covers Lawrence County from midnight to 10 a.m. Monday, with lows as low as 33 degrees possible there. Athens turns clear with a low near 38 degrees. Cover tender plants or bring them inside tonight — uncovered plants may be killed, the Weather Service advises.
Monday in the north stays cloudier and cooler. Cleveland stays mostly cloudy near 54 to 55 degrees, with northwest winds of 10 to 16 mph gusting to 29 mph, and a low around 41 Monday night, according to the National Weather Service. Youngstown reaches the low 50s. Toledo and the northwest do better, turning mostly sunny with highs near 56 to 58.
Monday in central and southern Ohio is the pick of the week so far. After areas of frost before 7 a.m., Columbus turns sunny with a high near 58 degrees, then partly cloudy Monday night with a low in the upper 30s. Cincinnati starts with patchy frost, then turns sunny with a high near 63 degrees and a clear Monday night near 41. Athens tops the southeast at near 62 degrees under sunshine, with a clear Monday night low near 37.
Tuesday is the warmest day of this stretch, staying dry with highs near 60 in Cleveland, the low 60s in Toledo and Columbus, about 66 in Cincinnati and the upper 60s in the southeast. Veterans Day on Wednesday stays dry by day, with highs from the mid-50s along Lake Erie to the mid-60s in the south, before rain returns Wednesday night. Thursday brings rain and highs in the upper 40s to low 50s, and Friday turns colder still, with highs only in the low 40s.
Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY