Ohio’s Friday afternoon is turning colder behind the cold front that crossed the state this morning, with temperatures falling through the rest of the day, lake-effect showers building in the northeast, and a frost advisory waiting for tonight in the southwest. Columbus was mostly cloudy at 56 degrees early this afternoon with a west-northwest wind gusting into the 20s, and readings there are expected to slide into the upper 40s by early evening. Most of Ohio will finish the day in the 40s and lower 50s under considerable cloud cover, a sharp step down from the milder air earlier this week.
In northeast Ohio, the afternoon and evening bring the state’s most unsettled weather. The National Weather Service in Cleveland expects lake-effect rain showers to develop this afternoon and evening and continue tonight, mainly in the primary snowbelt east of Cleveland, while areas outside the snowbelt stay mostly cloudy and chilly. Temperatures tonight will fall into the 30s outside the snowbelt and hold in the 40s closer to Lake Erie, and lake showers are expected to linger into Saturday east of Cleveland, where highs will struggle into the mid to upper 40s and lower 50s. Youngstown, which reached the lower 50s today, is forecast to fall into the mid-30s tonight.
Northwest Ohio is mostly cloudy and cool for the rest of Friday, with Toledo and Defiance topping out near 50 to 51 degrees before falling into the upper 30s tonight. On Lake Erie, the National Weather Service in Cleveland has a Small Craft Advisory in effect until 10 a.m. Saturday for the nearshore waters from Maumee Bay to Vermilion, with northwest winds of 15 to 25 knots and waves of 3 to 5 feet making conditions hazardous for small craft. The open-lake forecast also carries a chance of showers and waterspouts tonight as winds increase over the water.
Central Ohio stays cloudy through the evening, with Columbus falling from the mid-50s this afternoon to about 49 degrees by 6 p.m. and to a low in the low 40s tonight as northwest winds ease. Southeast Ohio is on the same cooling track: Athens was cloudy at 52 degrees this afternoon, with a low near 39 tonight under partly cloudy skies, a cloudy Saturday with a high near 50, and a colder Saturday night with lows in the low 30s.
The night’s headline in the south is frost. The National Weather Service in Wilmington has issued a Frost Advisory from midnight tonight through 9 a.m. Saturday for Cincinnati, much of southwest Ohio, northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana, with temperatures expected to fall to 32 to 35 degrees and allow frost to develop. The weather service warned that sensitive outdoor plants could be damaged or killed if left uncovered, so gardeners in the advisory area should cover or bring in tender plants before bed tonight. Cincinnati itself was partly sunny with a high near 55 on Friday and is forecast for a low in the mid-30s tonight.
Saturday will be a chilly day statewide even where the sun returns. Southwest Ohio expects patchy morning frost, then mostly sunny skies and a high near 55, while central Ohio stays cloudy with a high near 50 and the northeast deals with lingering lake showers. Saturday night could be the coldest night of the stretch, with lows in the lower 30s in the south — and possibly the upper 20s in some spots, cold enough that a freeze warning may be needed — and in the low to mid-30s across much of the rest of the state.
Relief arrives Sunday. High pressure brings sunshine back across Ohio, with highs in the mid to upper 50s, and the warm-up continues into the new week: highs reach the low 60s on Monday and the mid-60s in parts of the south and central state by Tuesday before another cooldown arrives later in the week, according to the National Weather Service. For this evening, drivers heading to Friday night football and other events should dress for temperatures in the 40s and falling, and boaters should stay off Lake Erie while the Small Craft Advisory remains in effect.
Photo: James St. John, CC BY