Drought Information Statement for the Middle Ohio River Valley Valid October 10 , 2025 Issued By: NWS Wilmington Ohio Contact Information: spotreport.iln@noaa.gov This product will be updated November 5, 2025 or sooner if drought conditions change significantly. Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/ILN/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates/[link] for regional drought status updates. Drought conditions have developed in portions of the Ohio Valley over the past several weeks 1 U.S. Drought Monitor Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for Lower Midwest Drought intensity and Extent D3 (Extreme Drought): Portions of the lower Scioto Valley D2 (Severe Drought): Portions of central and western Ohio D1 (Moderate Drought): Through much of central/southern Ohio and southeast Indiana D0: (Abnormally Dry): South central Ohio, most of northern Kentucky The U.S. Drought Monitor only considers conditions ENDING at 8am each Tuesday, so the rainfall that occurred after 8am Tuesday Oct 7 is NOT included in this week’s U.S. Drought Monitor Recent Change in Drought Intensity Link to the latest 4-week change map for Ohio River Valley Four Week Drought Monitor Class Change. Drought Worsened: Most of the worsening changes have been in Central and western Ohio and eastern Indiana. No Change: Spotty locations have not changed conditions since early September Drought Improved: Areas of greatest improvement have been in south central Ohio and northeast Kentucky Precipitation Accumulations and Percent of Normal As mentioned, much of the rainfall on Tuesday Oct 7 is not included in this week’s Drought Monitor. However, significant rainfall fell over all but northwest Ohio. Precipitation remains below normal in this area Temperature Both the 30 day and 7 day temperature anomalies depict above normal temperatures across at least portions of the mid Ohio Valley. Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter Hydrologic Impacts Below normal streamflow has been persistent, and in some cases worsening, across the Great Lakes Drainage in the St. Marys and Auglaize basins Agricultural Impacts Ohio’s staple row crops are already showing signs of stress. In northwest Ohio, corn is prematurely senescing, or aging, as a result of drought stress during the critical pollination and grain-fill stages. OSU Ohio State Ag News Ohio Crop Progress Report, Indiana Brownfield Ag News, Kentucky Crop Weather Report Fire Hazard Impacts There are no known impacts at this time Other Impacts There are no known impacts at this time Mitigation Actions None reported Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Image Caption: USGS 7 day average streamflow HUC map valid July 17, 2024 Below normal streamflow is affecting portions of middle/lower Scioto, the Hocking and Licking basins of Ohio, and the Licking basin of Kentucky Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage The 1-Month drought outlook depicted here was from September 30, 2025. A new outlook will be issued at the end of October. At the time of this issuance, precipitation is expected to be near normal for the period of October 11 -16. The 8-14 day outlook for the period October 17-23 is for near normal temperatures and near normal precipitation. Links to the latest: Climate Prediction Center Monthly Drought Outlook Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Drought Outlook