TOLEDO, Ohio — A short-lasting but intense burst of chilly April air will take us close to record territory Friday morning.
Following a Thursday with scattered snow showers, the skies will clear out and winds will slacken. With a very cold air mass overhead, this is the perfect recipe for near-record low territory.
The current record is 19 degrees set all the way back in 1881. It is one of the oldest records in the books for Toledo.
Continuous weather records in Toledo began in 1873, shortly after the end of the Civil War. Not only would matching this record low be a feat not done since the 19th century but it would snap a streak of 12 straight record highs without a record low.
The last record low set in Toledo was on Nov. 13, 2019. Since that day there have been 12 record highs set, including four just last month, without another record low.
The weather set-up this time is controlled by a low-pressure system to our east. This is what brought down the chilly Canadian air and helped created lake enhanced snow showers on April Fools' Day (no joke). Winds were too strong Thursday morning to allow the air temperature to drop near record levels.
That won't be the case early Friday as the low pressure moves away and light winds settle down at the critical pre-sunrise time frame.
By this weekend our winds will turn southerly and any mention of record lows a forgotten afterthought.
