Ohio, 2024

Drought in Ohio, October 1 to 31, 2024

October 1 to 31, 2024 · NWS RLX · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

October began with Moderate Drought (D1) conditions or worse across southeast Ohio. The worst drought (D4) covered portions of Perry, Morgan, Athens, Vinton, and Meigs counties, while conditions improved to the south.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
9

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS RLX wrote it up.

October began with Moderate Drought (D1) conditions or worse across southeast Ohio. The worst drought (D4) covered portions of Perry, Morgan, Athens, Vinton, and Meigs counties, while conditions improved to the south.

Several systems swept cold fronts through the area during the month. However, the majority of the area only received a few hundredths of rain at a time, while pockets of an inch or more were sporadically observed. Multiple days of dry weather in between systems also prevented whatever precipitation that did fall from putting a significant dent in the drought.

The severe to exceptional drought covering Perry, Morgan, Washington, Athens, Vinton, and Meigs counties remained relatively unchanged throughout the month. However, small improvements did occur in Lawrence, southern Jackson, and southern Gallia counties.

Impacts reported during the height of the drought included below normal stream flows, low water in wells and a local reservoir, shortage of hay, water hauling, and an increase in fire danger.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Athens

When
October 1, 12:00 AM EST to October 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Athens forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
39.334, -82.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Gallia

When
October 1, 12:00 AM EST to October 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Gallia forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
38.825, -82.317 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Jackson

When
October 1, 12:00 AM EST to October 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
39.020, -82.618 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Lawrence

When
October 1, 12:00 AM EST to October 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Lawrence forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
38.599, -82.537 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Meigs

When
October 1, 12:00 AM EST to October 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Meigs forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
39.082, -82.023 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Morgan

When
October 1, 12:00 AM EST to October 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Morgan forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
39.620, -81.853 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Perry

When
October 1, 12:00 AM EST to October 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Perry forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
39.737, -82.236 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Vinton

When
October 1, 12:00 AM EST to October 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Vinton forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
39.251, -82.485 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Washington

When
October 1, 12:00 AM EST to October 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
39.455, -81.495 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought
A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Ohio in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, October 2024

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1215526, 1215527, 1215528, 1215529, 1215530, 1215531, 1215532, 1215533, 1215534.