Ohio starts Monday, November 2, under cloudy skies and a mild November pattern, with no watches, warnings or advisories in effect anywhere in the state. The National Weather Service offices in Cleveland and Wilmington both said in their overnight Hazardous Weather Outlooks that no hazardous weather is expected today or tonight. The day’s only weather story is cloud cover and spotty light rain, mainly in southern and central Ohio, before a much brighter and warmer Election Day on Tuesday.
Early-morning conditions were already mild for early November. Columbus reported light rain at 56 degrees with a south wind near 5 mph, Cleveland was cloudy at 59 degrees, and Dayton was cloudy at 54 degrees with a gusty southeast wind. Clouds stay in place through much of the day, with south winds of about 5 to 10 mph in most areas. There is no frost, freeze, flooding or severe-weather concern in the outlook.
In Northwest Ohio, Toledo stays overcast, with a high near 67 degrees, south-southwest winds around 13 mph and gusts that could reach the low 20s, and no rain expected during the daylight hours. Northeast Ohio has a similar day: Cleveland is mostly cloudy in the morning before turning partly sunny, with highs in the upper 60s and south winds of 5 to 10 mph, and Akron and Youngstown share the mostly cloudy, dry pattern through the afternoon.
Central and southern Ohio carry the day’s rain chances. For Columbus, the National Weather Service in Wilmington calls for a slight chance of showers before 11 a.m., then cloudy skies gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 67 degrees. Cincinnati has about a 50 percent chance of rain today under mostly cloudy skies, with highs in the mid-60s, and Dayton stays cloudy in the mid-60s as well. Southeast Ohio, including Athens, shares that pattern and highs in the mid-60s.
Tonight stays mostly cloudy and unusually mild statewide. Cleveland has only a slight chance of rain in the evening, with lows in the mid-50s and south winds gusting to about 20 mph. Columbus turns partly cloudy after midnight with lows in the mid-50s, and Cincinnati stays partly cloudy with a chance of rain in the evening and lows in the mid-50s. Roads should stay dry except where a passing evening shower wets the pavement in the south.
Tuesday is Election Day, and it is the bright spot of the week. The Weather Service expects mostly sunny skies in central Ohio with a high near 76 degrees in Columbus, sunshine and highs in the low to mid-70s in the southwest, and partly cloudy skies with highs in the mid-70s around Cleveland and Toledo. Voters should find dry conditions across Ohio, with no rain expected during the day.
The break does not last past Election Day. Rain returns for the second half of the week as a front noses into western Ohio overnight Tuesday night and through Wednesday, with rain likely on Wednesday, a chance of rain lingering into Thursday, and wrap-around clouds and possible spotty showers to finish the week. Until that system arrives, Ohio gets a quiet Monday: cloudy, mild, a little damp in the south and center, and dry for most of the north.
Photo: Nheyob, CC BY-SA