Ohio is heading into a clear, calm and quiet night, with high pressure firmly in control from Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Skies were clear over Columbus and Wilmington on Monday evening, with temperatures in the mid-50s at 9 p.m. and falling steadily, and the National Weather Service has no watches, warnings or advisories in effect anywhere in the state. The chance of rain overnight is zero in every Ohio forecast zone, making this one of the most settled nights of the fall so far.
Overnight lows will land in the low to mid-40s statewide. Cleveland and the Lake Erie shoreline bottom out around 43 to 44 degrees, Columbus near 45, and the Cincinnati and Dayton areas in the mid-40s, with light and variable winds turning calm in most places. With clear skies, calm air and humidity climbing toward saturation by dawn, a few low-lying and river-valley spots could develop patchy fog toward daybreak, similar to the fog reported early Monday around Toledo, Wooster and Hamilton. Drivers on early Tuesday routes should be ready for brief visibility drops in the usual fog-prone hollows.
In northwest Ohio, Toledo, Findlay, Defiance and Lima stay mostly clear overnight with lows in the low to mid-40s, then turn partly cloudy on Tuesday with highs in the mid to upper 60s and light northeast to east winds. Northeast Ohio, including Cleveland, Akron, Canton and Youngstown, sees partly cloudy skies tonight with lows around 44, followed by a partly cloudy Tuesday with highs in the mid to upper 60s — Canton near 69 — and light winds off the lake early before turning easterly.
Central Ohio has the warmest Tuesday on the map. Columbus goes from a mostly clear night and a low near 45 to a partly cloudy Tuesday with a high near 73 and light east-southeast winds around 4 mph. Southwest Ohio follows the same pattern: Cincinnati, Dayton and Wilmington are clear tonight with lows in the mid-40s, then partly cloudy Tuesday with highs in the low 70s. Southeast Ohio, including Athens and the Hocking Hills, stays clear to partly cloudy overnight with lows in the mid-40s and climbs into the upper 60s to low 70s on Tuesday, with no rain expected anywhere in the region.
Tuesday night brings increasing clouds statewide, with lows in the upper 40s — a few degrees warmer than tonight — as a weak system approaches from the west. Even so, the Weather Service keeps rain chances at about 10 percent through Tuesday night, and Wednesday looks mostly cloudy but dry with highs in the low to mid-70s. No travel impacts are expected through midweek, and the dry pattern is good news for harvest work, road projects and the final week of fall sports playoffs.
The warmest day of the week still looks like Thursday, when highs reach the mid-70s under partly cloudy skies, before temperatures ease back toward 70 on Friday and into the upper 60s on Saturday. Halloween on Saturday is shaping up mostly cloudy and dry for trick-or-treat hours, with evening temperatures falling through the 60s. The next real chance of rain does not arrive until Sunday, November 1, when showers become possible statewide — Columbus carries about a 50 percent chance — so Ohioans have nearly a full week of dry, mild fall weather to enjoy first.
For tonight, the only preparation needed is a jacket: temperatures will be in the 40s by daybreak, and frost is not a concern with lows staying well above freezing. The Weather Service expects spotter activation will not be needed, and the quiet pattern holds through the week ahead.
Photo: Superior National Forest, CC BY