It is the warm calm before the storm.
A record high of 73 degrees was set around 3 p.m. Friday at the Akron Canton Airport. This breaks the record high of 70 degrees set just a year ago.
But big changes are coming.
Winds in excess of 40 miles an hour coupled with rain and snow this weekend will usher in the first wintry mix of the season, according to the National Weather Service.
A strong cold front will sweep south across the Great Lakes Friday night. Gale force winds will make for miserable conditions through Sunday, churning 11-foot waves on Lake Erie.
Gale warnings, a lake effect snow watch and hazardous conditions cover the Lake Erie shoreline from Toledo to New York state and more than 50 miles inland.
Here’s how it will play out locally: Precipitation will pour across the lakes into the area by early morning Saturday, and the temperature will drop to the mid-30s by late afternoon, accompanied by high winds and then snow.
The weather service said to expect an accumulation, less than an inch by Sunday morning and another half inch on Sunday.
In the Akron-Canton area, sustained winds of more than 20 miles an hour are predicted, with gusts of nearly 40 miles an hour.
For the 0-10 Cleveland Browns as they line up against the 4-5 Pittsburgh Steelers, misery is expected in more places than the field.
The temperature along the lake will peak at 39 degrees, wind gusts will be up to 45 miles an hour and flurries are possible. For updates, check with the National Weather Service office in Cleveland.