Ohio’s mild Thursday is holding through midday, with sunshine and partly sunny skies across most of the state and no watches, warnings or advisories in effect late Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Highs for the rest of today top out in the upper 50s in the far northwest and in the low to mid-60s farther south and east, on southwest winds of 5 to 15 mph. The dry afternoon precedes a cooler change that begins with rain reaching northern Ohio tonight.
In northwest Ohio, Toledo reaches near 57 under mostly sunny skies and Lima reaches near 58 and sunny, the National Weather Service in Cleveland and the National Weather Service in Northern Indiana said. Northeast Ohio is warmer and bright: Cleveland is partly sunny near 58, Akron near 61, Mansfield near 59, and Youngstown mostly sunny near 61, according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland and the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.
Central Ohio is enjoying one of the sunniest versions of the day. Columbus is sunny near 63 and Dayton, in southwest Ohio, is sunny near 61, the National Weather Service in Wilmington said. Cincinnati is also sunny near 61, with a pleasant fall afternoon along the I-70, I-71 and I-75 corridors before clouds increase tonight.
Southeast Ohio is the warmest part of the state at midday. Athens is sunny near 64, the National Weather Service in Charleston said. Skies stay mostly clear into the evening before turning mostly cloudy overnight, with a low near 42 and dry weather across the southeast.
Tonight is when the pattern turns, starting in the north. Rain is likely tonight around Toledo and Lima, and showers are possible across the rest of northern Ohio as clouds thicken, according to the National Weather Service. Lows fall to about 47 in Toledo and Lima, 45 to 47 in Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown, and 44 to 46 in Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati, where the night stays mostly cloudy and largely dry.
Friday keeps that split. Rain is likely in Akron and Youngstown and into Friday morning around Toledo, with a chance of showers in Cleveland, while Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati and Athens turn sunny, according to the National Weather Service offices serving Ohio. Highs cool into the 50s — near 50 in Toledo, 53 to 56 in the northeast, and 54 to 57 farther south. Friday night turns cold, with lows of 33 to 37, before Saturday highs in the upper 40s and 50s give way to a sunnier Sunday rebound into the upper 50s and low 60s.
For travelers, the rest of Thursday remains the easy part of the stretch: dry roads statewide, with a jacket enough for this evening’s 40s. Drivers in northwest and northeast Ohio should plan for wet roads tonight and Friday morning, and residents in colder spots should protect sensitive outdoor plants ahead of Friday night’s lows in the mid-30s. No severe weather is expected, and the National Weather Service expects the northern rain to be light.
Photo: David Ohmer, CC BY