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Rain from Hurricane Helene eased drought conditions in Ohio

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Rain from Hurricane Helene eased drought conditions in Ohio

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Ohio's ongoing historic drought eased slightly last week after remnants of Hurricane Helene swept across the state, according to a new map from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

A record high 1.44 inches of rain fell in Columbus on Friday alone, and the showers continued into last weekend.

According to the latest Drought Monitor map, Franklin County is no longer considered an “exceptional” drought, the worst drought ever. However, a significant portion of the county continues to fall into the “severe” to “extreme drought” categories.

Extreme drought conditions have also completely disappeared in southwest Ohio on the new map, and a large cluster of exceptional droughts has retreated to southeast Ohio.

As of September 24, only 2% of the state was drought-free, according to U.S. Drought Monitor Data. 14% of the state is now drought-free, primarily in south-central and northeast Ohio.

Drought has been downgraded from “severe” to “moderate” in significant portions of the state, and unusually dry conditions – the lowest level of drought – have become more common.

Ohio's Drought Severity and Coverage Index, a score from 0 to 500 that measures the state's overall drought level, fell from 298 to 212 last week.

While last weekend's rain helped, the state will need multiple rainfall events to fully emerge from the drought, an NWS meteorologist previously told The Dispatch.

Unfortunately, there won't be much rain in the upcoming forecast from the National Weather Service.

Weather forecast for Columbus October 3-9:

  • Thursday: Sunny with a high near 79.
  • Thursday evening: Mostly clear with a low around 52.
  • Friday: There will be patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise it will be mostly sunny with a high of around 79 degrees.
  • Friday evening: Mostly clear with a low around 53.
  • Saturday: Sunny with a high near 76.
  • Saturday evening: Clear with a low of around 53.
  • Sunday: Mostly sunny with a high around 84°, but there is a chance of showers after 2 p.m. The chance of precipitation is 30%.
  • Sunday evening: Showers are possible before 8 p.m. Otherwise mostly clear with low temperatures around 50 °C. The chance of precipitation is 30%.
  • Monday: Sunny, high near 69.
  • Monday evening: Clear with a low of around 45.
  • Tuesday: Sunny with a high near 68.
  • Tuesday evening: Clear with a low of around 44.
  • Wednesday: Sunny with a high near 69.

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