Fall-like weather coming to an end, tracking a weekend warmup for Columbus area

QUICK WEATHER FORECAST:

• Today: Mainly sunny, high 79
• Tonight: Cool & clear, low 55
• Friday: Few clouds, high 84
• Saturday: Partly cloudy, high 88
• Sunday: Hot & sunny, high 90
• Monday: Heat builds, high 92

FORECAST DISCUSSION:

Good Thursday afternoon!

It's another sunny and comfortable day for Central Ohio! Since Wednesday, we've been tapping into a gradual warming trend that will carry us into the weekend. Looking ahead, we might be in store for one final taste of hot, summer weather.

High pressure remains in control of our skies, so sunshine will remain steady as we head into the rest of today and into the evening hours. Temperatures will land just short of 80 degrees this afternoon. We're staying crisp overnight in the mid 50s, but we won't be as cool as the past couple of nights.

The upper level air pattern is shifting as we go into the weekend. An upper level ridge is building to our southwest and will eventually push into our area by the end of the weekend and into next week. Temperatures here in Central Ohio will gradually begin to build back above average by next week.

We're back to more seasonable weather by Friday - in the mid 80s. The upper 80s are back by Saturday and the lower 90s are making a return by Sunday. The 90s are steady as we go into the majority of next week.

While we aren't tracking any rain in the next seven days, there is the return of some moisture in the form of humidity. Dewpoints have been steady in the 40s and 50s this week, keeping us fairly comfortable. But, at the same time that temperatures climb to the 90s, dewpoints will be climbing closer to the 70s. So, heat index values going into next week could sit several degrees above the actual temperature.

-Joe