CLEVELAND — We’re in store for a quick dose of cold air as temperatures are expected to be at or below freezing overnight, which is why the National Weather Service in Cleveland has issued a Freeze Watch throughout Northeast Ohio from midnight tonight until 10 a.m. Thursday.
“We’ll have lingering clouds around today, but tonight high pressure settles in and should clear skies out -- and that is a recipe for maximum cooling at night when you have clear skies and light winds,” explains 3News’ Senior Meteorologist Matt Wintz.
He says he expects the Freeze Watch will be upgraded to a Freeze Warning.
“The only reason why this is issued is because we’ve already started our growing season,” Wintz continues. “We don’t issue Freeze Watches and Warnings in the winter time because you’re expecting to be cold. But this time of year, once the growing season gets started, you get these Freeze Watches and Freeze Warnings. Just kind of a heads up that we’re going to be on the cold side tonight and you need to protect those plants.”
The National Weather Service says that while the freeze conditions could kill crops and other sensitive vegetation, the organization also warns that the cold temps could “possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.”
Wintz says this quick return to cold air “is not unusual” for this time of year as late April is the average last freeze in Northeast Ohio with the average last frost in early May.
These chilly temperatures won’t last for long, though, because temperatures will reach the 70s by Friday and Saturday before topping 80 degrees Sunday and Monday.
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