Drought Information Statement for Northern IN, Southern MI, Northwest OH Valid March 3, 2026 Issued By: NWS Northern IN Contact Information: nws.northernindiana@noaa.gov This product will be updated in April 2026 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/iwx/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates for regional drought status updates. Extreme drought (level 3 of 4) persists from northwest OH through the US 24 corridor in Indiana Moderate to severe drought (level 1 and 2, respectively) remain through much of northern and central Indiana An active weather pattern to begin March may gradually ease drought conditions U.S. Drought Monitor Drought intensity and Extent D3 (Extreme Drought): Central Indiana through northwest Ohio D2 (Severe Drought): Central Indiana through northwest Ohio D1 (Moderate Drought): Williams county Ohio through Pulaski county Indiana D0: (Abnormally Dry): South central Michigan through Starke county Indiana Precipitation Precipitation over the past 30 days has generally been below normal in northern Indiana, northwest Ohio and southern Michigan Additionally, at Fort Wayne, precipitation from Dec 1 through Feb 28 ranked as the 8th driest on record Summary of Impacts Hydrologic Impacts Stream flows across the area remain well below normal according to the USGS water dashboard. Agricultural Impacts There are no known impacts at this time 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 Seven Day Precipitation Forecast An active weather pattern continues for our area Up to 2.5” of rain is possible over the next 7 days Some of this rain falls Thursday night through Saturday morning (3/5-3/7) while additional rain falls near Wednesday, March 11 Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Issued on Feb 28, the outlook for March favors above-normal precipitation and above-normal temperatures. This can help ease ongoing drought conditions. Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage According to the Climate Prediction Center, drought conditions are favored to end of improve during the Spring 2025 was the driest year on record at Fort Wayne (record through 1897), and year to date precipitation is already 2.5” below normal