Ohio is in the warmest part of a quiet Sunday afternoon, with sunshine statewide and no watches, warnings or advisories in effect anywhere in the state, according to the National Weather Service. Early-afternoon readings had already reached 71 degrees in Columbus and 70 in Wilmington, with fair skies, light south and southeast winds and low humidity. The morning fog that slowed northwest Ohio is long gone, and the rest of the day stays dry in every region, with no rain in the forecast.
Afternoon highs top out near 69 to 71 degrees in the northwest, near 67 to 69 in the northeast, near 70 to 71 in central Ohio and near 69 in the southeast around Athens. The southwest remains the warmest corner of the state, reaching near 73 in Dayton and 74 in Cincinnati. Fall color remains near its best in many areas, and the clear, dry afternoon is well suited to getting outside before the evening cool-down begins around sunset, shortly after 6:30 p.m. in the northeast and closer to 6:40 p.m. in the southwest.
In the northwest, Toledo spends the afternoon sunny after its patchy morning fog, with light south-southwest winds. In the northeast, Cleveland is sunny on the way to near 69, and Youngstown has recovered from patchy frost and an overnight low near 35 to reach near 68 under sunny skies. Roads across the north are clear and dry, with no travel impacts expected through the evening.
Central Ohio is sunny with a high near 70 to 71 in Columbus and light southeast winds turning partly cloudy at times late in the day. The southwest holds the strongest warmth in Dayton and Cincinnati under sunny skies. In the southeast, Athens follows its morning fog with sunshine and a high near 69. Every region shares the same pattern this afternoon: dry weather, light winds and temperatures well above what late October often delivers.
Tonight turns mostly clear to partly cloudy and cool, with overnight lows in the mid-40s across most of Ohio — around 46 in Toledo and Columbus, 45 in Cleveland and 49 in Dayton. The southeast cools the most, with Athens dropping to around 40. The largely clear skies give Ohioans a good look at the Hunter’s Moon, which reaches peak illumination early Monday at 12:12 a.m. Anyone heading out this evening should expect temperatures to fall through the 60s and 50s after sunset, so a jacket is a good idea even after the warm afternoon.
Monday is another dry, sunny day and a touch warmer. The National Weather Service expects highs near 70 in Toledo, 69 in Cleveland, 71 in Youngstown and Athens, 73 in Columbus and 75 in both Dayton and Cincinnati, with no rain expected. Monday night turns partly to mostly cloudy with lows in the mid- to upper 40s, and patchy morning fog is possible again in parts of the southeast.
The extended outlook stays unusually calm for late October. Tuesday brings a brief cool-down in the north, with highs near 63 in Toledo and 64 in Cleveland, while central and southwest Ohio hold in the low to mid-70s. Temperatures rebound into the 70s statewide Wednesday through Friday, peaking near 76 in Columbus and 78 in Cincinnati on Thursday and Friday, with dry weather continuing. The next chance of rain in the current outlook does not arrive until Saturday, and even then it is only slight, at around 10 to 14 percent. No safety or travel concerns are expected tonight or Monday beyond the evening chill after a warm day.
Photo: James St. John, CC BY