Ohio is at its warmest point of the day Thursday afternoon, with sunshine statewide and temperatures well above late-October norms, but a weak cold front arriving this evening will bring showers to the northeast and cooler air for Friday, according to the National Weather Service. The Weather Service office in Cleveland reported fair skies in its noon regional roundup, with readings of 71 degrees in Defiance and Findlay, 70 in Toledo, 72 along the Cleveland lakefront, 70 in Cincinnati and Wilmington, 69 in Dayton and Lima, and 68 in Columbus. No watches, warnings or advisories were in effect for Ohio locations checked this afternoon.
The afternoon peak is still ahead for many places. The National Weather Service forecasts a sunny afternoon in Columbus with a high of 79 degrees and southwest winds around 13 mph gusting to 22 mph, while Cleveland heads for a high near 76 degrees. Northwest Ohio shares the gusty pattern — Toledo gusted to 25 mph at noon, Findlay to 23 mph and Defiance to 21 mph — so loose Halloween decorations and other light outdoor items should be secured before the strongest gusts this afternoon. Rain chances stay at or near zero statewide through the daylight hours.
Northeast Ohio gets the evening change first. The National Weather Service calls for showers likely in the Cleveland area this evening, mainly before 11 p.m., with a 60 percent chance of precipitation, and a 70 percent chance in Lake County, with new amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Clouds increase, then skies gradually become partly cloudy overnight with a low around 51 degrees in Cleveland and west winds around 8 mph. Communities holding Beggars Night events in the northeast should expect the best chance of a shower between about 7 p.m. and midnight.
The rest of Ohio stays much drier tonight. Northwest Ohio has a chance of showers this evening ahead of the front, then turns partly cloudy with lows in the middle 40s. Central Ohio stays mostly clear to partly cloudy with a low around 49 degrees in Columbus and no significant rain expected, and southwest Ohio follows the same dry pattern, with Dayton and Cincinnati falling into the upper 40s overnight. Southeast Ohio, from Athens and Marietta toward Portsmouth, also stays dry tonight after a sunny, warm afternoon in the 70s, with only the front’s wind shift to northwest winds after midnight marking the change.
Friday is cooler behind the front everywhere, but it stays dry and sunny. The National Weather Service forecasts sunshine with a high near 69 degrees in Columbus, near 60 to 62 degrees in the Cleveland area, and in the middle 60s in northwest Ohio, with northwest winds of 5 to 8 mph in the northeast easing through the day. Friday night turns partly cloudy with lows in the middle and upper 40s statewide, a noticeably chillier night than Thursday night, especially in the northeast.
Halloween on Saturday looks dry for trick-or-treaters across Ohio, with mostly cloudy skies, highs in the lower 60s in the northeast and in the middle 60s in central Ohio, including near 64 degrees in Columbus, and Saturday-night lows in the upper 40s to around 51 degrees. No rain is in the Halloween forecast. A jacket under or over costumes will be a good idea after sunset, but the dry conditions should hold for evening events statewide.
Sunday stays mostly cloudy with highs in the upper 60s to near 70 degrees as daylight saving time ends and clocks fall back an hour at 2 a.m. Shower chances return Sunday night, at 30 percent in northeast Ohio, then the pattern stays unsettled into the new week: the National Weather Service keeps a chance of showers Monday through Wednesday, with highs in the upper 60s and lows from the upper 40s to the middle 50s. Until that change arrives, Ohio’s dry stretch holds through the Halloween weekend — enjoy Thursday afternoon’s upper-70s warmth, watch for an evening shower in the northeast, and expect a cooler, sunny Friday.
Photo: James St. John, CC BY