Friday storms to wash away record warm temps

NEWARK - Camden Clark held tightly to his vanilla milkshake.

Camden, 3, had a big smile on his face has he stopped by Dairy Isle after preschool with his grandfather Mike Jones.

He had decided his milkshake flavor before he had even stepped up the ordering window.

"Because I like it," Camden said of his choice.

Camden and his grandfather were just two of the dozens of visitors to the East Main Street Dairy Isle on Thursday soaking up the warm weather.

The East Main Street location opened for the season Tuesday. Co-owner Laurie Fetter-Braidich said it is the normal time year the local chain opens its ice cream stands, but the unseasonable warm weather had definitely set the season off to a good start.

The temperature reached the upper 60s, and new record high was recorded in Columbus.

"Early warm weather to start out is good, especially being a seasonal business, that helps," she said.

Some years when the chain opens the weather has been harsher.

"We've opened when it's been snowing before," she said.

Dairy Isle opened its West Church Street location Thursday and the location on South 30th Street in Heath opens soon, Fetter-Braidich said.

While munching on a strawberry ice cream cone and funnel cake fries, Gage Davis, 12, said he loves the warm weather.

Gage said he doesn't want anymore snow and that he planned to play outside and ride his hoverboard while the weather was still warm.

Janet Lewis came with granddaughter Emma Martin to get milkshakes after Emma got out of school. Lewis was hoping to spend time outside Thursday afternoon playing in yard.

"We love this weather," she said.

Unfortunately, the warm weather might not last long. Strong to severe thunderstorms are possible Friday night across Ohio ahead of an approaching cold front, according to the National Weather Service. And there is an enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms across western Ohio, especially in northwest Ohio, where there is a threat of both damaging winds up to 70 mph and a few tornadoes.

This weekend the temperatures are expected to be in the 40s. While many plants are getting ready to bloom, Lori Swihart, who is the volunteer coordinator for the Master Gardener program through the OSU Extension office, said the plants should make it through the colder weather.

"Some things are tender to that, but it's not like it'll kill them," she said.

While many families came to Dairy Isle because one the warm weather, one family said they would have stopped by regardless. Wendy Hostetter said her family has a tradition of getting dinner from Dairy Isle every year when it opens.

"We would have been here if it would have been five degrees," she said.

mdevito@gannett.com

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Twitter: @MariaDeVito13