Drought Information Statement for Eastern Ohio, Northern West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania Valid October 2, 2025 Issued By: NWS Pittsburgh, PA This product will be updated October 16, 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/pbz/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates/ for regional drought status updates Some improvement in drought conditions due to recent rainfall. Extreme Drought (D3) conditions remain for portions of the northern WV panhandle and eastern Tucker county. Moderate Drought (D1) and Severe Drought (D2) still noted in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. U.S. Drought Monitor Drought intensity and Extent D4 (Exceptional Drought): None D3 (Extreme Drought): Portions of Belmont county OH; Washington and Greene counties in PA, Tucker; Marshall, Wetzel, and Ohio counties in WV. D2 (Severe Drought): Hancock, Ohio, Wetzel, Tucker, Preston, in WV; Belmont and Monroe, Jefferson, Columbiana in OH; Beaver, Washington, Greene in PA. D1 (Moderate Drought): Much of the rest of eastern OH and western PA west of I-79 and north of highway 422. D0: (Abnormally Dry): Jefferson, Indiana, Westmoreland, Fayette and portions of the surrounding counties in PA; portions of Marion, Monongahela, and Preston in WV. Recent Change in Drought Intensity Two Week Drought Monitor Class Change. Drought Worsened: Conditions did deteriorate across portions of the northern WV panhandle and western PA. No Change: Parts of eastern OH and western PA. Drought Improved: across eastern Ohio, and portions of northern WV and PA. Precipitation The upper Ohio valley saw much needed rainfall over the last week. Between 1-4 inches of rain was recorded, which was 200% above normal for late September. Still, the precipitation is around 75% of normal for the last 30 days (graphic not shown). Summary of Impacts Hydrologic Impacts Streamflows running near normal after last week’s rainfall. Soil moisture near or slightly below average across the entire region. Some private wells are low. Agricultural Impacts Grasslands affected, feeding hay to cattle sooner. Some farmers unable to get a second cut of hay and need to rely on purchasing. Farmers hauling water for livestock as wells/ponds have dried up. Some selling of livestock reported. Fire Hazard Impacts Fire Risk is low. A few county burn bans are in effect outside of the standard statewide bans that go into place Oct 1st. Mitigation Actions A few PA townships reporting voluntary water restrictions. A Drought Watch has been issued by the PA DEP and Drought Task Force for several counties in PA. Water conservation is encouraged. Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Streamflows are running closer to normal as a result of the rainfall from the last 7 days. Some of the local reservoirs have responded as a result of the rain but others continue to gradually fall. No impacts to navigation noted locally. Image Caption: USGS 7 day average streamflow (left) and USGS 14 day average streamflow (right) HUC map valid 10/1/2025 Agricultural Impacts There remain some pockets of drier soils across the upper Ohio valley but some improvement is noted in eastern OH and northern WV. Still, there are reports that last week’s rain did not help fill ponds/troughs for livestock. Hay is being fed to cattle early due to poor pasture conditions. Seven Day Precipitation Forecast Precipitation chances increase as we go into next week, though forecast rain totals remain generally below an inch. Drought reducing rainfall is not projected over the next 7 days. Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Warm temperatures and near to slightly above average precipitation is expected through the next 8-14 days. Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Drought is predicted to persist through the next three months based on longer range forecasts and trends.