Climate Summary
As forecasted, a complex weather pattern brought significant rainfall to the entire state between Wednesday night and Sunday. Precipitation over the last 7 days ranges from about 2 inches in northeast Ohio to 5-7 inches across southwest and south central Ohio (Figure 1). This brings the precipitation total for much of southwest Ohio to 8-12 inches over the last 30 days. The length of last week’s event allowed for a significant improvement to soil moisture profiles with standing water noted in many counties. Stream flows are normal to well above normal, with reports of farm ponds finally returning to close to normal levels across the driest areas of southeast Ohio. Still, longer-term (180-365 day) precipitation deficits remain and conditions will need to be monitored closely throughout the growing season. Overall, the latest US Drought Monitor shows about 34% of the state is abnormally dry but with the saturated conditions, improvements are likely in the update on Thursday morning.
With much above normal air temperatures in March, early spring soil temperatures have been mild. Even with the weekend cool down, daily-average soil temperatures as of April 6 range from the mid to upper 40s across northern Ohio to the low to mid 50s across the south. For more complete weather records for CFAES research stations, including temperature, precipitation, growing degree days, and other useful weather observations, please visit https://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/weather1/. For the latest up-to-date conditions, seasonal outlooks, and monthly climate summaries, please visit the State Climate Office of Ohio.
Weather Forecast
The big weather story this week is the Arctic chill that is settling into the region. Overnight lows on Tuesday morning (April 8) will be in the low to mid 20s across the entire state. Many locations will spend 10-12 hours below freezing overnight, with potential damage to sensitive vegetation. Freeze Warnings are in effect across central and southern Ohio. Another cold night is likely Tuesday night into Wednesday morning with lows in the mid to upper 20s. Temperatures will modify late in the week, but freezing temperature are possible again over the weekend. A system moving down from the northern Great Plains will bring rain and/or snow to the state on Wednesday and Thursday. Lingering showers on Friday should give way to drier weather for the weekend. The National Weather Service is currently forecasting 0.5-1 inch of precipitation for Ohio over the next 7 days (Figure 2).
The 6-10 day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center and the 16-Day Rainfall Outlook from NOAA/NWS/Ohio River Forecast Center show near normal temperatures and precipitation (Figure 3). Climate averages include a high-temperature range of 58-63°F, a low-temperature range of 37-42°F, and weekly total precipitation of 0.80-1.00 inch.
