Columbus is getting a good bit of rain this week and more is expected in the forecast as the state continues to face the most severe drought conditions in decades.
Ohio's State Climatologist Aaron Wilson said the precipitation is good to alleviate the drought, but more rain is needed. The forecast is calling for a chance of rain every day until the weekend. It's the most sustained rain the region has seen in weeks as drought conditions have persisted.
Wilson said this rain is a good start for Ohio's waterways and soil moisture to recover from what he called a "parched summer." Wilson said the rainfall is only halting the progress of the drought, not improving it.
"It's still very heavy rainfall. High intensity falling on those really hard soils. A lot of that is running off. Some of it will soak in. But again, what we need are repeated weeks of near to above average precipitation for an extended period of time," Wilson said.
Wilson said it would be wrong as this point to say the drought is over.
"In no way would we classify this drought as gone, especially for central and southeastern Ohio that really have been in the throes of this now for 150 days in terms of these deficits," Wilson said.
The U.S. Drought Monitor, which Wilson helps contribute data to from Ohio, still lists Pickaway County and a huge swath of southeast Ohio in the D-4 "exceptional drought" category. Wilson said that likely won't change much even with the recent rain, because data for this week's update had to be put in at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.
The next week's drought monitor update will be a bigger indicator of the rainfall's impact.
As the region has dealt with the drought, conditions have worsened on farms and visibly in Ohio's rivers and reservoirs. Farmers in Pickaway and Ross counties report their natural springs have depleted. The Hocking River in Athens reached historic lows. Columbus had to dip into its water reserves to keep up with demand.
Wilson, when he spoke to WOSU in early September, said he thinks a "non-tragic" tropical storm system that dumps a lot of rain would be what the region needs. Soon, that may come to fruition.
Wilson said his office is watching Tropical Storm Helene, which is taking aim at the Florida Panhandle. He said that storm system could push moisture up into parts of the Ohio River Valley, especially parts of southern Ohio closer to the river itself.
"You look at the seven-day forecast as it stands right now, most of the counties south of I-70 are forecasted to pick up between one to three inches of rain over the next seven days," Wilson said.
Wilson said looking towards the late fall and winter, he would like to see an above normal amount of precipitation. He said a La Nina weather pattern expected this year could bring those conditions.
"We would like a normal to above-normal winter, certainly above normal fall to start to recover. And then as we head into winter, near to above average, so that we can continue to hydrate after this parching summer," Wilson said.
