Ohio is heading into its coldest night of the season so far under clearing skies. By 9 p.m. Saturday, Columbus was clear at 41 degrees, Dayton was clear at 42 and Wilmington was clear at 38, while Youngstown, at 45, was still cloudy with clearing expected late. With high pressure building in, winds easing and skies turning mostly clear statewide, temperatures fall steadily overnight — and a Freeze Warning takes effect at midnight for much of central, south-central, southwest and southeast Ohio, running until 10 a.m. Sunday.
The National Weather Service in Wilmington expects sub-freezing temperatures in the upper 20s to lower 30s across its warning area, which includes Franklin, Pickaway, Ross, Hamilton, Clermont, Brown, Highland, Adams, Pike and Scioto counties, and the National Weather Service in Charleston, West Virginia, expects lows as low as 30 to 31 degrees in southeast Ohio, including Lawrence County. The weather service warns that frost and freeze conditions could kill crops and other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing, so tender plants should be covered or brought in and exposed pipes protected before the midnight drop.
In the north, the last of Saturday’s lake-effect rain showers in the Northeast snowbelt fade this evening. Toledo turns mostly clear with lows in the lower 30s and west winds of 5 to 10 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland’s 6:17 p.m. zone forecast, while Cleveland itself sees gradual clearing with a low around 38 and west winds of 8 to 10 mph. Youngstown’s clouds clear late with a low near 37.
Central Ohio settles in mostly clear and cold, with Columbus falling to about 34 degrees. Dayton drops to the low to mid 30s under clear skies, and Cincinnati sees patchy frost after 3 a.m. with a low around 32. The Southeast stays mostly cloudy longer, with areas of fog and patchy frost developing after midnight and lows in the mid 30s in the Ohio River counties served by the National Weather Service in Charleston.
Sunday is the payoff: sunny skies statewide after areas of frost before 9 a.m. in the south. Highs reach the upper 50s in Toledo, about 59 in Columbus and Dayton, the upper 50s in Cincinnati, about 57 in Cleveland and 59 in Youngstown, with lower 60s possible along the Ohio River in the southeast. It will be breezy, though — west and southwest winds of 15 to 20 mph gust as high as 30 mph in the northwest, gusts reach 29 to 32 mph across the north, and Cincinnati gusts hit about 21 mph.
Sunday night turns mostly cloudy in the north with lows in the upper 30s to low 40s, and stays clearer in the south with lows in the upper 30s to around 40. Monday is mostly sunny to partly cloudy with highs in the mid to upper 50s, and Tuesday is the warmest day of the stretch, sunny with highs in the lower to mid 60s statewide.
The pattern breaks down later in the week. Veterans Day on Wednesday stays partly cloudy before rain chances arrive late, Thursday brings a 30 to 40 percent chance of rain with highs falling back to around 50, and Friday turns colder still with highs in the mid 40s. For tonight, the job is simple: finish the plant and pipe protection before midnight, expect a frosty windshield and patchy river-valley fog early Sunday, and then enjoy a bright, gusty Sunday.
Photo: Jannalynn, CC BY