Overview

• A weak cold front brings a brief taste of fall with cooler air Friday night into Saturday, with patchy frost possible in sheltered Finger Lakes valleys and higher terrain.
• Weekend conditions stay largely dry with highs commonly in the 70s to 80s, hotter inland than near lakeshores and coasts, and some areas seeing early-day fog on Friday.
• The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows expanding dryness, including moderate to severe categories in parts of Ohio and the Tri-State, with Cleveland at 2.15 inches of rain since Aug. 1 and Akron-Canton under a half-inch in nearly 50 days.
• Temperatures rebound to around 80 or the 80s starting Monday, the autumnal equinox at 2:19 p.m. EDT, as spotty to scattered showers and thunderstorms become more likely Monday into Tuesday.
• Tropical Storm Gabrielle is forecast to strengthen over the Atlantic, potentially to a hurricane by Sunday, tracking north and posing no immediate U.S. land threat, with model guidance suggesting a close pass to Bermuda.