Ohio settles into a quiet, chilly night Tuesday night with no watches, warnings or advisories in effect statewide, according to the National Weather Service. Skies are mostly clear in central, southwest and southeast Ohio and partly cloudy in the north, winds are light, and no rain is expected overnight — a calm close to a sunny day that reached the lower 60s in much of the state.
Overnight lows tell the regional story. Northwest Ohio around Toledo falls to about 38 degrees under partly cloudy skies on a west wind around 2 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland. Northeast Ohio drops to about 40 degrees in Cleveland and about 34 degrees in Youngstown, the coldest spot in this forecast, under mostly clear skies. Anyone out late tonight or up early Wednesday will feel the chill, so a jacket is a good idea after the mild afternoon.
Central Ohio turns mostly clear tonight with a low near 41 degrees in Columbus on a northwest wind around 2 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington. Southwest Ohio is similar, with a low near 41 degrees in Dayton and about 43 degrees in Cincinnati under mostly clear skies and calm winds, while southeast Ohio around Athens also settles near 41 degrees under mostly clear skies. Roads stay dry statewide tonight, with no fog, flooding or wind concerns in the National Weather Service forecast.
Veterans Day on Wednesday, November 11, stays dry for ceremonies and outdoor observances, but clouds increase, especially in the north. The National Weather Service forecasts mostly cloudy skies and a high near 55 degrees in Toledo and 58 degrees in Cleveland, 59 degrees in Youngstown and 61 degrees in Columbus. Farther south the day is milder and brighter, with partly sunny skies and highs near 63 degrees in Dayton, 64 degrees in Athens and 66 degrees in Cincinnati under mostly sunny skies — the warmest reading in the state. Only northern Ohio carries a slight chance, about 20 percent, of a rain shower late in the day.
The pattern changes Wednesday night, when rain showers spread across Ohio. The National Weather Service puts the chance of rain at about 90 percent in Cleveland, about 80 percent in Youngstown and Athens, about 60 percent in Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati, and about 40 percent in Toledo, with lows in the lower to mid-40s. Amounts stay light, generally less than a tenth of an inch, with between a tenth and a quarter of an inch possible in parts of the east and northeast.
Thursday is colder and wetter, led by northeast Ohio, where the National Weather Service calls for rain showers with a 100 percent chance of precipitation in Cleveland, a high near 49 degrees and north winds gusting as high as 31 mph. Elsewhere, highs reach only about 46 degrees in Toledo, 49 degrees in Columbus, 50 degrees in Dayton, Youngstown and Athens and 52 degrees in Cincinnati, with rain likely in central Ohio and a chance of rain farther south and west. Drivers should expect wet pavement Thursday, especially along Lake Erie.
Friday stays chilly, with highs in the low to mid-40s statewide, rain showers lingering in northeast Ohio and a slight chance of rain and snow showers early Friday in the Youngstown and Athens areas, according to the National Weather Service. The weekend then trends drier and partly sunny, with highs in the lower 40s on Saturday recovering toward about 50 degrees by Monday — so tonight and Veterans Day are the best window this week for outdoor plans before the rain and the chill arrive.
Photo: Jsjessee, CC BY