Drought Information Statement for Eastern Ohio, Northern West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania Valid October 16, 2025 Issued By: NWS Pittsburgh, PA This product will be updated October 30, 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 Continued improvement in drought conditions due to recent rainfall. Extreme Drought (D3) conditions remain for portions of the northern WV panhandle and eastern Tucker county. U.S. Drought Monitor Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania Drought intensity and Extent D4 (Exceptional Drought): None D3 (Extreme Drought): Portions of Washington and Greene counties in PA; Tucker Marshall, and Ohio counties in WV. D2 (Severe Drought): Hancock, Ohio, Wetzel, Tucker, Preston, in WV; Belmont, Monroe, Jefferson, and Columbiana in OH; Beaver, Washington, Greene, Venango, and Forest in PA. D1 (Moderate Drought): Portions of eastern OH and western PA west of I-79 and north of highway 422. D0: (Abnormally Dry): Portions of Ohio from about I-77 westward and areas east of I-79 Recent Change in Drought Intensity Two Week Drought Monitor Class Change. Drought Worsened: Northern Venango and Forest counties were the only locations that were degraded. No Change: Much of western PA save for a few counties. Drought Improved: across eastern Ohio and portions of northern WV. Some improvements also noted in the hardest hit areas along the PA/WV/OH border. Precipitation Rainfall was generally under and inch for much of the upper Ohio Valley over the last 7 days, though some isolated higher amounts were noted across parts of the upper Monongahela basin and Muskingum Basin. Still for the last 30 days (graphic not shown), precipitation is still running at 75% of normal Summary of Impacts Hydrologic Impacts Streamflows running near normal. Soil moisture near or slightly below average across the entire region. Some private wells are low. Agricultural Impacts Some impacts continue: 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 above normal. 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. https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/pennsylvania-american-water-reduce-use-drought-watch/ Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Streamflows are running closer to normal save for portions of the upper Allegheny and Youghiogheny basin. 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. 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. There continue to remain impacts, such as supplemental feeding and hauling of water. Fire Hazard Impacts Above normal risk for wildfires through the month due to dry conditions, leaf litter. Link to Wildfire Potential Outlooks from the National Interagency Coordination Center. Seven Day Precipitation Forecast Precipitation chances increase as we go into next week, with a cold front projected to bring around an inch of rain on Sunday. This should help to gradually improve conditions over some of the region. 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 could persist or slightly improve for some of the hardest hit areas in northern WV, eastern OH, and western PA.