Ohio is well into a mild and mostly cloudy Sunday late this morning, with no watches, warnings or advisories in effect anywhere in the state. The National Weather Service offices in Cleveland and Wilmington continue to expect no hazardous weather today or tonight, and mid-morning conditions show why the day feels more like early October than the first of November: Cleveland was mostly cloudy at 60 degrees, Columbus was mostly cloudy at 63 degrees, Dayton was partly cloudy at 64 degrees, Cincinnati was fair at 65 degrees, Toledo was sunny at 63 degrees, and Athens was partly cloudy at 63 degrees.
The rest of today stays dry for most of Ohio under increasing and mostly cloudy skies, with light southerly winds and afternoon highs in the upper 60s and low 70s. The Weather Service in Wilmington, in the forecast reported by the Columbus Dispatch, puts Columbus at a high near 72 degrees today, while northern Ohio tops out a few degrees cooler near the lake. Afternoon humidity in northern Ohio is expected to fall into the 35 to 45 percent range, and winds stay light except near Lake Erie, where Cleveland saw a southeast wind near 11 mph gusting to about 20 mph late this morning.
In Northwest Ohio, Toledo started with some morning sun before clouds increase this afternoon, with a high near 68 degrees in the Weather Service fire weather forecast for Lucas County and no rain expected today. Northeast Ohio, including Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown, stays mostly cloudy and dry, with Cleveland reaching a high near 68 degrees and the lakeshore breeze easing as the afternoon goes on. Neither part of northern Ohio has any precipitation expected during the daylight hours.
Central Ohio, including Columbus, warms to near 72 degrees under mostly cloudy skies with a light southeast wind of about 5 mph. Southwest Ohio is among the warmest areas at midday: Dayton, partly cloudy at 64 degrees late this morning, heads for a high near 72 degrees, and Cincinnati, fair at 65 degrees, heads for about 70 to 71 degrees. Southeast Ohio shares the mild pattern, with Athens partly cloudy at 63 degrees late this morning and a high near 73 degrees before clouds thicken this evening.
Tonight stays mostly cloudy and mild on the first full night back on standard time. The Weather Service expects lows of about 51 degrees around Toledo, around 53 degrees in Columbus, and in the mid-50s in Dayton and Cincinnati. A weak disturbance approaching from the west brings the next chance of rain late tonight and into early Monday morning, mainly as light and scattered showers across southern and central Ohio, while northern Ohio stays dry tonight in the Cleveland office forecast.
Monday turns cooler behind that disturbance. The Weather Service in Wilmington gives Columbus a slight chance of showers before 11 a.m., then cloudy skies gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 67 degrees, while Cincinnati and Dayton cool to highs of about 60 to 61 degrees and Cleveland reaches about 63 to 64 degrees. Election Day on Tuesday then turns mostly sunny and warmer in central Ohio, with a high near 76 degrees, before a stronger system brings more widespread rain by the middle of the week, with rain likely Wednesday afternoon in Columbus.
There are no travel or safety hazards in the forecast for the rest of Sunday, making for a dry final day of early voting and an easy afternoon on Ohio roads. The one adjustment is the earlier darkness that comes with standard time: sunset tonight ranges from about 5:21 p.m. in Cleveland and 5:26 p.m. in Athens to 5:29 p.m. in Columbus and 5:36 p.m. in Cincinnati, so evening drivers and pedestrians should plan for a dark trip home well before dinner is over.
Photo: Sixflashphoto, CC BY-SA