A moderate drought has returned to Northeast Ohio.
The U.S. Drought Monitor is a map released every Thursday (with data from Tuesday to Tuesday.)
It tracks drought across the U.S. using five classifications: Abnormally dry (D0), which shows areas that may be going into or are coming out of drought, and four levels of drought: Moderate (D1), severe (D2), extreme (D3), and exceptional (D4).
The weekly update to the United States Drought Monitor was issued on Thursday morning, and there have been some notable changes across our viewing area and region over just the last week. Compare the map released for the week of Aug. 28, compared to this week (Sept. 4), below.
The biggest change was the addition of moderate drought in our southern communities, such as Stark, Carroll, Tuscarawas, and Coshocton counties. Abnormally dry conditions persist across Lake, northern Ashtabula, northern Geauga, Ottawa, Seneca, Sandusky, southern Summit, southern Portage, and northern Stark counties.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of the Midwest experienced widespread deterioration after rainfall amounts fell short by one to three inches during the past 30-day period. This is true for our viewing area as well, with the greatest deficiencies in the areas now in moderate drought.
Unfortunately, drought breeds drought. Once a region falls into drought conditions, it typically causes warmer-than-normal temperatures, which in turn promotes ridging (or high pressure aloft). High pressure then limits the potential for rain and worsens the drought.
This looks to be the case over the next week at least.
We have a few rain chances on Friday and over the weekend, but the majority of this rainfall will be light, aka not drought-busting. After the weekend, next week is looking VERY dry.
The Climate Prediction Center agrees with our forecast and has a notable signal for below-average precipitation and above-average temperatures over the next two weeks. The map below shows below-average precipitation for a huge portion of our viewing area through mid-September.
This means drought will likely worsen as it continues through the month of September.
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