Ohio heads into Halloween evening under high pressure, with dry weather statewide, filtered sunshine through a high cloud deck and no hazardous weather anywhere, according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland. There are no watches, warnings or advisories in effect for Ohio this afternoon. Columbus was mostly cloudy at 62 degrees in the early afternoon with an east wind at 8 mph, Cleveland was cloudy at 58 degrees, and Cincinnati was headed for a mostly cloudy high near 69, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington. Rain chances stay near zero in every region through tonight.
Northwest Ohio spends the rest of the afternoon mostly cloudy and dry, with highs in the low 60s around Toledo, Findlay and Lima, according to the National Weather Service. Northeast Ohio follows the same pattern, with afternoon temperatures near 59 to 60 degrees in Cleveland and the low 60s inland, and east to southeast winds around 5 to 10 mph along Lake Erie. The National Weather Service in Cleveland says inland locations along and east of Interstate 71 may reach the lower 70s this weekend, but the cloud deck keeps most of northern Ohio in the 60s today.
Central Ohio holds mostly cloudy skies through the afternoon, with Columbus reaching the mid-60s before temperatures ease back into the low 60s by early evening, according to the National Weather Service. Southwest Ohio remains the warmest part of the state, with Dayton and Cincinnati in the upper 60s under mostly cloudy skies and a light east wind of 3 to 6 mph around Cincinnati, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington. Southeast Ohio around Athens and Portsmouth follows close behind in the mid to upper 60s, also dry.
Tonight is the focus of this edition, and the forecast is kind to trick-or-treaters in every region. Skies stay cloudy after sunset — about 6:30 p.m. in Columbus and 6:22 p.m. in Cleveland — with temperatures near 62 degrees at 6 p.m. in Columbus, near 59 in Cleveland and in the low 60s across the south, falling to the upper 50s by 8 p.m. and the mid to upper 50s by 9 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. No rain is expected during trick-or-treat hours anywhere in Ohio, so costumes will not need rain gear, though a layer underneath will feel good after dark.
Overnight stays cloudy and mild for late October, with lows near 52 to 55 degrees in Columbus, near 53 to 54 in Cleveland and near 55 in Cincinnati, according to the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service in Cleveland notes that overnight lows warm this weekend as clouds increase, with more widespread 40s and lower 50s expected Sunday night. Daylight saving time ends overnight: clocks fall back one hour at 2 a.m., giving Ohio an extra hour of sleep before a Sunday sunrise near 7:01 a.m. and sunset near 5:29 p.m. in Columbus on standard time.
Sunday turns warmer statewide as high pressure drifts east, with highs near 70 degrees in Columbus and Cleveland and into the upper 60s and low 70s in southern Ohio under cloudy skies, according to the National Weather Service. Most of the state stays dry during the day Sunday; southwest Ohio picks up a chance of rain mainly after 2 p.m., about 40 percent around Cincinnati with less than a tenth of an inch possible, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.
The warm-up continues into the first week of November before the pattern turns less settled. The National Weather Service in Cleveland says southerly flow returns as the high moves east by Monday, allowing temperatures to warm further, likely into the 70s, with only a low-end risk of showers Monday and Tuesday. The best chance of showers next week comes as a cold front approaches and crosses Ohio Wednesday and Thursday, though forecasters say confidence in its timing is still low. Election Day on Tuesday looks mostly dry with highs in the 60s and 70s. For this evening, though, the message is simple: dry streets, mild 50s and 60s, and a quiet Halloween night across Ohio.
Photo: James St. John, CC BY