Climate Summary
After 6 – 8 weeks of below normal rainfall, last week’s weather pattern brought widespread rain to the state (Figure 1). Many areas across southern and eastern Ohio picked up 3-6 inches of rain for the period September 20 – 26, 2025. West-cental and northwestern counties did not fair as well, only receiving 0.5 – 2 inches over this time. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor Report, which only included observations through Tuesday September 23, 2026 showed some minor improvements in D1-D3 categories but widespread drought conditions were still present. With the additional rainfall last week after the cutoff, the next update to the US. Drought Monitor will likely show improvements in southern and eastern Ohio. Reports continue to come in highlighting low soybean moisture and field fires have been an increasingly common occurrence. The rainfall has slowed soil moisture depletion, with rivers recovering flow and pastures and landscapes greening up a bit. Please consider submitting your observations to the National Drought Mitigation Center’s Condition Monitoring Observer Reports platform. For the latest drought conditions and agricultural resources, please visit our Drought Conditions and Resources page or the State Climate Office of Ohio.
Weather Forecast
Just as quickly as the rain moved in, the pattern has turned dry and warm once again. Temperatures were 6-9°F above average last week, with daytime highs soaring into the mid to upper 80s over the weekend. We are starting off this week in the mid to upper 80s as well, but a slight cool down is in the forecast. Highs will drop by a couple of degrees each day, with overnight lows in the 40s and 50s this week. Rain ended last Friday, leaving a dry weekend across the Buckeye State. This dry weather is expected to continue for the next seven days (Figure 2).
The 8-14 day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for the period of October 6 – 12, 2025 and the 16-Day Rainfall Outlook from NOAA/NWS/Ohio River Forecast Center show warmer than normal temperatures and near normal precipitation are probable (Figure 3). Climatological normals for this period include a high-temperature range of 69-73°F, a low-temperature range of 47-52°F, and weekly total precipitation of 0.55 - 0.75 inches.
