Drought — Morgan, Ohio

2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Morgan, Ohio

Wider weather episode

After a quiet end to the month of July, exceptionally dry weather prevailed through the majority of August and attributed to a historical drought across the Ohio River Valley. The month began with severe drought (D2) conditions laid across parts of southeast Ohio and gradually grew worse through the course of the month. Under strong high pressure and daily afternoon temperatures stretching into the triple digit marks, soil conditions continued to dry out. By the middle of August, many locations in Ohio were expanded to an extreme drought (D3) state. For the first time in history since the establishment of the Drought Monitor, a D4 exceptional drought category was introduced in parts of Athens and Meigs Counties.

Declining levels in irritation wells/ponds in August led to hauling of water for livestock across the lowlands of West Virginia. Other impacts from this drought also included a crop yield loss reported across much of the state of Ohio as well as nearby hay shortages. Given the drying vegetation and above normal temperatures, brush fire activity also increased by the end of the second half of the month. Local average streamflows continued to be well below much of southeast Ohio.

Exceptionally dry conditions stretched into September.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1207942. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.