Freeze watch upgraded to warning across Clark County
The National Weather Service tracked a freeze threat through the weekend, moving from a watch to a warning before temperatures climbed back above freezing Sunday morning.
The National Weather Service issued a Freeze Watch for Clark County on October 16, warning of sub-freezing temperatures possible from late Saturday night through Sunday morning NWS. The watch covered New Carlisle and a wide stretch of east central Indiana, northern Kentucky and central and southwest Ohio NWS.
How the alert changed overnight
The weather service canceled the watch just after midnight on October 17, saying it had been replaced by newer information NWS. It issued a Freeze Warning in its place at 12:18 a.m. that same day, this time calling the cold "expected" rather than just possible NWS. The warning was updated twice more on October 17, first in the afternoon and again that night, each time keeping the freeze window at 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. Sunday NWS +1.
A final update before dawn on October 18 said sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 degrees could still kill crops, and urged people to protect tender plants right away NWS. By 9:02 a.m. Saturday morning the weather service said temperatures were warming and the warning would end shortly after 10 a.m. NWS.
This report is based on Freeze Watch and Freeze Warning alerts issued and updated by the National Weather Service office in Wilmington, Ohio, between October 16 and October 18, 2026 NWS +6.
Sources
The source filing
| Event | Freeze Watch |
|---|---|
| Message type | Alert |
| Severity | Severe |
| Certainty | Possible |
| Urgency | Future |
| Headline | Freeze Watch issued October 16 at 1:30PM EDT until October 18 at 9:00AM EDT by NWS Wilmington OH |
| Area desc | Wayne; Fayette; Union; Franklin; Ripley; Dearborn; Ohio; Switzerland; Carroll; Gallatin; Boone; Kenton; Campbell; Owen; Grant; Pendleton; Bracken; Robertson; Mason; Lewis; Hardin; Mercer; Auglaize; Darke; Shelby; Logan; Union; Delaware; Miami; Champaign; Clark; Madison; Franklin; Licking; Preble; Montgomery; Greene; Fayette; Pickaway; Fairfield; Butler; Warren; Clinton; Ross; Hocking; Hamilton; Clermont; Brown; Highland; Adams; Pike; Scioto |
| Effective | October 16, 2026, 1:30 p.m. |
| Expires | October 17, 2026, 5:00 a.m. |
| Sender name | NWS Wilmington OH |
| Instruction | Be prepared to take steps to protect tender plants from the cold. |
Published by National Weather Service (api.weather.gov). This is the agency's public filing as The Lantern received it, shown with its fields named in plain English.