Ohio is well into a sunny, dry Friday at mid-morning, with the cooler air behind Thursday night’s front now in place statewide, according to the National Weather Service. Columbus was sunny at 58 degrees with a north wind at 7 mph, Dayton was sunny at 58 and Toledo was sunny at 52, while Cleveland was partly cloudy at 57 with a north-northwest wind at 11 mph gusting to 16. No watches, warnings or advisories are in effect on land anywhere in Ohio, and the hazardous weather outlooks from the National Weather Service offices in Cleveland and Wilmington both say no hazardous weather is expected today or tonight. The one morning travel issue — patchy dense fog in Mercer, Auglaize and Darke counties, where the National Weather Service in Wilmington warned visibilities could drop below a half mile through mid-morning — is lifting as sunshine takes over.
In northwest Ohio, the rest of today stays bright and crisp. The National Weather Service forecasts mostly sunny skies in Toledo with a high near 61 and a light north wind, and Findlay, Defiance and Lima follow the same pattern, climbing only into the low 60s after a chilly start. Rain chances stay at or near zero all afternoon, making for a clean, dry day for travel and harvest work across the northwest — a noticeable step down from Thursday’s warmth.
Northeast Ohio remains the state’s cool corner for the rest of today. The National Weather Service forecasts partly cloudy skies in Cleveland with a high of only about 59 degrees, as north-northwest winds off Lake Erie ease through the afternoon. Akron, Youngstown and the lakeshore from Lorain to Ashtabula stay in the upper 50s to low 60s under a mix of sun and clouds, and on Lake Erie itself, north winds diminish today with waves of 2 feet or less in the west and 2 to 4 feet subsiding in the central basin, according to the National Weather Service marine forecast.
Central and southwest Ohio get the warmest sunshine for the rest of today. Columbus turns sunny with a high near 69 to 70 and a light north wind, according to the National Weather Service, while Dayton is sunny with a high near 69 to 71 and northeast winds of 5 to 7 mph. Cincinnati is the warm spot in the state, sunny with a high near 72, calm wind turning northeast around 5 mph in the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington. Southeast Ohio follows the same script, with sunshine and highs in the upper 60s to near 70 around Athens, Marietta and Portsmouth, and no rain anywhere in the region.
Tonight, clouds increase across Ohio but the night stays dry everywhere, according to the National Weather Service. Columbus expects increasing clouds with a low around 46, Cleveland and Toledo cool into the mid-40s, and Dayton and Cincinnati bottom out in the upper 40s, near 49 in Cincinnati. That keeps Friday night playoff football dry statewide, with temperatures falling from the 60s at kickoff in the south to the 50s by the final whistle, and jackets a good idea for fans in the north, where the evening turns chilly fastest.
Halloween on Saturday turns mostly cloudy but stays dry for trick-or-treaters, with the National Weather Service forecasting highs near 60 in Toledo, 61 in Cleveland, the mid-60s in Columbus, near 67 in Dayton and near 69 in Cincinnati, with rain chances around 10 percent. Sunday stays mostly cloudy and warms back up, with highs near 70 to 71 in Columbus and Cleveland, before shower chances creep back in late Sunday, especially in the south. The week ahead then turns warmer still early on, with temperatures well above normal Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland, while shower chances increase from Monday night onward and become more widespread by midweek.
For the rest of today, the advice is simple: enjoy the sunshine, keep a jacket handy for the evening, and expect no weather delays for travel or Friday night games anywhere in Ohio. The dry run that began behind the front holds through Halloween, and the next real chance of rain does not arrive until the new week is underway.
Photo: Kevin Payravi, CC BY-SA