October is opening more like August across Ohio — but a cold front is about to change that, bringing widespread rain Friday and the first real taste of fall behind it.
Thursday brings partly cloudy skies and summer-like highs in the mid-80s: around 85 in Columbus and 81 to 86 across the northeast, running 10 to 15 degrees above average for the date. A cold front will swipe through Ohio from the northwest late tonight into Friday, and forecasters have issued a 10 Weather Impact Alert for Friday morning’s commute.
Showers arrive overnight and continue through the first half of Friday, with rainfall up to a half inch and pockets of heavier downpours possible. Columbus faces an 80% chance of rain Friday morning with highs falling into the low 70s, while the northeast sees rain developing tonight and a Friday high near 68. Some showers could linger into Friday afternoon.
Behind the front, the weekend trends drier and cooler with sunshine returning — highs in the 50s and 60s to open the first full week of October, with a chance of frost or freeze early next week. It’s the pattern Ohioans have waited for since summer’s heat hung on deep into autumn.
