The National Weather Service in Wilmington has issued a freeze watch for central Ohio and large swaths of the state that will go into effect this weekend.
The freeze watch will go into effect on Saturday night, Oct. 17, into Sunday morning, Oct. 18, and includes Franklin, Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Madison, Pickaway and Union counties in central Ohio, the weather service said.
Dozens of other Ohio counties are also included in the watch, including Shelby, Logan, Miami, Champaign, and Clark, Hocking, Ross, and Adams counties, the weather service said.
During the freeze watch, temperatures can possibly plunge into the lower 30s or upper 20s, according to the weather service. The frost and freeze conditions could kill crops and other sensitive
vegetation, the weather service said.
Weekend forecast for Columbus
Friday, Oct. 16 - Showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 66 degrees. West wind around 14 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
At night, chance of showers, mainly before midnight. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 38 degrees. West wind 10 to 16 mph becoming north after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Saturday, Oct. 17 - Sunny, with a high near 52 degrees. North wind 10 to 15 mph. Areas of frost after 1 a.m. Otherwise, clear with a low around 31 degrees. Light north wind.
Sunday, Oct. 18 - Widespread frost before 9 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 59 degrees. East wind 3 to 7 mph. At night, clear with a low around 36 degrees.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Freeze watch goes into effect Oct. 17 for central Ohio, other counties
