Climate Summary
Temperatures over the last 30 days have been close to normal for this time of year, with plenty of highs in the 80s, a few warmer days in the 90s, and overnight lows in the 60s (Figure 1). The weather pattern has been active as of late, with repeated rounds of showers and storms occurring for much of the state. The heaviest rain has fallen across southern Ohio, with total rainfall ranging from 5.5 to over 13 inches since July 11. Lighter rain (2-5 inches) has fallen across much of northern Ohio, with isolated pockets of dryness compared to normal. Two severe weather days brought 9 additional confirmed tornado reports to parts of southwest and southeast Ohio and one in Trumbull County, brining the annual total to 28. Near-sruface wildfire smoke has not been an issue of late, with just elevated smoke leading to milky white skies on a few days. For more monthly and quarterly updates, please visit the State Climate Office of Ohio or sign up for email updates at https://go.osu.edu/oh-climate-summaries.
Figure 1) left) Average temperature (°F) departures above normal (inches) and right) Percent of Normal Precipitation (%) for the period July 11 – August 9, 2026. Figures courtesy of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center (https://mrcc.purdue.edu/).
Weather Forecast & Outlook
Mid-level high pressure to the southwest has brought the “Ring of Fire” weather pattern to Ohio. This pattern is named for the fact that disturbances move in a clockwise fashion along the periphery of the high, leading to repeated opportunities for showers and storms over the same locations. We expect this to continue throughout much of the upcoming week (Aug 11-17). The exact timing of the storms will be difficult to know more than 12-24 hours ahead of time, but everyone should be prepared to deal with storms, occasionally heavy, with high winds and flash flooding possible. The good news is that the pattern will also keep temperatures under control as highs should be in the low to mid 80s and overnight lows in the 60s each day. The National Weather Service precipitation forecast shows significant rain totals over the next 7 days in Ohio ranging from 1 inch in northeast Ohio to as much as 6 inches in southern Ohio (Figure 2). A few heavier isolated amounts are possible.
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Figure 2) Total precipitation forecast valid from 8pm ET August 10, 2026, – 8pm ET Monday August 17, 2026. Figure courtesy of the National Weather Service – Wilmington, Ohio (https://www.weather.gov/iln/). |
The 8–14-day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for the period of August 18 - 24, 2026, and the 16-Day Rainfall Outlook from NOAA/NWS/Ohio River Forecast Center show temperatures are likely to be above average with near normal precipitation (Figure 3). Climatology for this period indicates a normal high-temperature range of 83-86°F, a low-temperature range of 62-65°F, and weekly total precipitation of 0.60-0.85 inch.
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Figure 3) Climate Prediction Center 8-14 Day Outlook valid for August 18 – 24, 2026, for left) temperatures and right) precipitation. Colors represent the probability of below, normal, or above normal conditions. |