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Ohio will continue to be affected by drought after 1 inch of rain starting Sunday

Posted on by Vanessa
Ohio will continue to be affected by drought after 1 inch of rain starting Sunday

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Ohio will finally get some rain, but not nearly enough.

A rain system with up to 1 inch of precipitation is expected to hit the Buckeye State late Sunday night, according to Mike Griffin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Cleveland office.

“It won't end the drought,” Griffin said. “But it's the best chance we've had in a long time that we'll get some isolated rain showers and maybe thunderstorms.”

The system is expected to remain isolated over the state from Sunday evening through sometime Wednesday.

“It's just not going to happen everywhere,” Griffin said. “Not everyone will be affected at the same time and not everyone will get the same amount of precipitation.”

More: 'This is an emergency': Sherrod Brown promises help for farmers during the worst drought of the century

The weather forecast calls for at least 0.5 inches of rain across Ohio over the course of four days, with some areas expecting as much as 1 inch of rain.

Several centimetres of rain needed to end drought

Ohio has been suffering from a persistent drought for several weeks. 87 of the state's 88 counties are affected.

The situation is worst in southeastern Ohio, where several counties are affected by drought level D4, the most severe possible rating on the US Drought Monitor drought scale.

This summer, drought withered corn and soybeans across the Buckeye State, allowing farmers to harvest their fields several weeks earlier than planned.

The lack of rain this year has even caused many trees to change color prematurely.

This type of dryness does not go away easily.

“A good remedy for the drought would be two to three inches of rain,” Griffin said. “That would slow the drought down a bit.”

Climate forecast for October: Precipitation below normal

After the rain eased on Wednesday afternoon, there will be no further showers in Ohio for the time being.

“We’re getting dry somehow,” Griffin said.

The greatest risk of storms occurs in early October, but even then “below average” rainfall is to be expected.

“For the month of October, the Climate Prediction Center is expecting above-average temperatures,” Griffin said. “And precipitation will be close to normal or perhaps even below normal.”

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