Drought Information Statement for Central Indiana
Valid September 26, 2025
Issued By: NWS Indianapolis, IN
Contact Information: nws.indianapolis@noaa.gov
This product will be updated by October 24, 2025 or when significant changes occur. 
Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements.
Please visit https://www.weather.gov/ind/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. 
Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates/ for regional drought status updates.
Expansion of Moderate Drought (D1) and Severe Drought (D2) 
Recent rainfall provided surface level short term relief, but dry forecast should erase this quickly

U.S. Drought Monitor
Drought Intensity and Extent

D2 (Severe Drought): Delaware, Howard, Madison, Parke, Randolph, Tipton, Vermillion
 
D1 (Moderate Drought): Bartholomew, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Clay, Clinton, Decatur, Fountain, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Owen, Putnam, Rush, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Vigo, Warren

D0: (Abnormally Dry): Daviess, Martin, Shelby 

Recent Change in Drought Intensity
Four Week Drought Monitor Class Change
Three class degradation over northeastern central Indiana
Two class degradation over most of central Indiana, with one class degradation also fairly common

Precipitation
Below normal precipitation for the state over the last 30 days, with the majority of the area in the 25 to 50% of normal

Summary of Impacts

Hydrologic Impacts 
Below to much below normal streamflow over some basins (USGS)
Low levels in ponds and streams (CMOR)

Agricultural Impacts
Despite recent rain, ground remains dry and hard in many locations (CMOR)
Some farm crops showing signs of stress (CMOR)

Fire Hazard Impacts
Some county burn bans (IDHS)

Other Impacts
Plants, shrubs, trees discolored and losing leaves (CMOR)
Lawns patchy and brown (CMOR)

Mitigation Actions
None reported

Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts
Below normal streamflow across the Wabash and Mississinewa basins
Much below normal streamflow over northeast Indiana in the St Joseph basin
Normal streamflow showing up across much of Indiana, but this is likely on the low end of normal (near 25%)
Reports of low pond and stream levels

Agricultural Impacts
Soil moisture is below normal across central and northern Indiana
Despite recent rain, ground remains dry and hard in many locations
Some farm crops showing signs of stress 

Fire Hazard Impacts
Several counties removed burn bans due to rainfall this past week

A few burn bans remain in western and eastern Indiana

Conditions have improved, but will likely deteriorate over the next week

Seven Day Precipitation Forecast
Little to no precipitation forecast for the state for the next seven days

Long-Range Outlooks
The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage
One month outlooks for October show a lean toward drier than normal precipitation over southwestern Indiana and midrange probabilities of above normal temperatures

Drought Outlook
Drought is expected to develop/persist across all but northwest Indiana through the end of December