Ohio Weather March 5 Midday - 31° Above Normal

Good afternoon. Ohio. I'm Aaron Jolly. If you stepped outside this morning, you got drenched. Nearly an inch and a half of rain overnight turned roads into rivers and left puddles the size of small lakes. Right now, it's a muggy 60 degrees and still drizzling. In the next 24 hours. And we're not done yet. More showers and thunderstorms roll through this afternoon. Central Ohio takes the heaviest hit around 2 P.M. Northeast Ohio? You're soaked from noon straight through evening, picking up another half to three-quarters of an inch. Southwest Ohio gets thunderstorms peaking around 1 P.M., with gusty winds and another quarter to half inch on top of what already fell. Highs are all over the place today. Cleveland struggles to 54 degrees along the lake. Columbus hits 65. Cincinnati? A sticky 68. Flood watches stay in effect through early afternoon across southern counties. Creeks are running high. And low-lying areas are already saturated. If you see water over the road, turn around. Tonight, showers taper off after sunset. Patchy fog develops as temperatures hold steady — lows from 41 in Cleveland to 59 in Cincinnati. Friday flips the script. Morning fog clears, then we're looking at near-record warmth. Highs soar to 74 in Columbus, 78 in Cincinnati, 64 in Cleveland. That's 31 degrees to 31 degrees above normal for early March. Here's your heads-up for the weekend. Saturday brings another round of storms — strong to severe thunderstorms possible, especially during the afternoon. Highs in the low 70s before a cold front drops us back to reality Sunday. Expect mostly sunny skies and highs near 60. Sunshine holds Monday with highs near 68, then another storm system arrives Tuesday into Wednesday. Watch for standing water today. This much rain in 24 hours doesn't just disappear. For the extended outlook, check the latest forecast as confidence improves. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.