Ohio is well into a bright, warming Monday at mid-morning, with no watches, warnings or advisories in effect anywhere in the state, according to the National Weather Service. Its 6 a.m. statewide roundup showed a chilly, quiet start, with temperatures from 38 degrees at Wooster to 52 degrees along the Lake Erie shore in Cleveland, and pockets of fog at Toledo, Wooster and Hamilton. That fog has been lifting through the morning, Columbus was sunny and up to 55 degrees by mid-morning, and skies are now fair to partly cloudy in every region.
The rest of today stays dry and increasingly warm. High pressure keeps rain chances near zero, and light southwest to west winds around 5 mph will push afternoon temperatures into the 60s and low to mid-70s statewide — about 10 degrees above normal for late October in northern Ohio. It is an easy afternoon for travel, outdoor work and fall color trips, with no flooding, wind or storm impacts expected.
In northwest Ohio, Toledo shakes off its morning fog for a mostly sunny afternoon near 70, while Defiance, Findlay and Lima climb from a clear, mid-40s start into the upper 60s and low 70s. In northeast Ohio, Cleveland stays the coolest major metro under sunny skies, near 67, because of the lake influence, while Akron reaches near 72, Canton near 71, and Youngstown and Mansfield settle in the upper 60s.
Central Ohio turns mostly sunny in Columbus, headed for a high in the low to mid-70s after a 44-degree start. Southwest Ohio is the warmest part of the state once the Hamilton-area fog is gone: Cincinnati reaches near 75 under sunny skies and Dayton near 73. In southeast Ohio, the hill country warms from a crisp start in the low 40s to sunny highs in the low 70s around Athens, with light winds all afternoon.
Tonight turns partly cloudy statewide as a weak cold front crosses northern Ohio, and temperatures fall back into the mid-40s — near 45 in Akron, Canton and Columbus and near 48 in Cincinnati. Winds stay light, shifting north behind the front in the north. Patchy fog is possible again late tonight in low-lying and river-valley areas, mainly in the south, so early Tuesday drivers there should be ready for brief drops in visibility.
Tuesday brings more of the same: mostly to partly sunny skies, light winds, and highs from the upper 60s in the northeast to the low and mid-70s in central and southwest Ohio. Wednesday stays partly sunny with highs in the low 70s, and Thursday looks sunny and a touch warmer, with highs in the mid-70s in central Ohio and the upper 70s possible in the southwest.
The extended outlook keeps Ohio dry through Friday, with highs in the low to mid-70s, and dry for most of Saturday as well — good news for Halloween plans, with Saturday highs in the upper 60s to mid-70s. The next real chance of rain arrives late Saturday night into Sunday, November 1, when showers become likely in parts of the state, so weekend plans should check later editions for updated timing. For the rest of today, there is no safety concern beyond this morning’s leftover fog — simply a warm, sunny fall day across Ohio.
Photo: Kevin Payravi, CC BY-SA