Drought conditions in Ohio could get even worse over the coming month.
The most severe drought conditions are concentrated in Southeast and Central Ohio but also effect parts of Jefferson, Carroll and Tuscarawas counties.
While there’s no relief in sight for at least the next month, meteorologist Robert LaPlante with the National Weather Service said recent rain events in Northeast Ohio brought moisture to the region tamping down the impact of the drought in the region.
"There is a little corridor of no drought over Lake through Geneva County into Summit County," he said. "They had a big rain about a month or so back. There was a narrow band of, let's say, three to seven inches of rain and that really moistened the ground up there."
Lake County is not currently experiencing drought conditions, along with portions of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Medina, Portage, Summit and Wayne counties, according to an updated map published by the U.S. Drought Monitor Thursday. Much of Northeast Ohio remains normally dry or in moderate drought conditions.
The severe weather that hit Northeast Ohio in early August brought strong winds including five confirmed tornadoes but was short on rain, providing little additional relief to the dry conditions, LaPlante said. He expects conditions to remain dry throughout the state through the end of October.
"The weather pattern starts to change and more of the winter type pattern where we do get storms, rain, snow storms start setting in," he said. "The odds for [precipitation] generally increase, and the evaporation is even less then because the days are so short."
Water levels in rivers and streams statewide are lower, hitting base lows due to the dry conditions, LaPlante said, but Lake Erie’s water supply, is largely unaffected.
"Some streams are quite low, and ... they'll stay that way until the rains come," he said. "Now, fortunately for Lake Erie, only about 10% of the flow into Lake Erie is from Ohio. ... 90% of the water comes down the Detroit River into the lake, so we have that source of water."
This is good news for communities sourcing water from Lake Erie, LaPlante said, but inland communities relying on well water may be at risk as dry conditions continue.
