Drought eases some across Northern Ohio

CLEVELAND - The grass is greener now. That's what you see when you drive through local neighborhoods around Northern Ohio. Indeed, recent rains have helped ease soil dryness across the area. And the numbers agree.

According to the Palmer Drought Index, as of September 1, 2012, drought conditions have improved some in three out of the four climate zones in north central and northeast Ohio.

The drought has improved from EXTREME to SEVERE in the northeast, north central and central hills of Ohio. Those three regions include the following counties: Ashtabula, Trumbull, Lake, Geauga, Portage, Summit, Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, Wayne, Holmes, Coshocton, Ashland, Richland, Erie, Huron, Ottawa, Sandusky and Seneca.

The drought is still considered EXTREME in the Northeast Hills. Ohio counties included in this zone are: Mahoning, Columbiana, Stark, Tuscarawas and Carroll.

Keep in mind, this latest index does NOT include the 1 to 3 inches of rain that fell across a large portion of northern Ohio September 3 thru September 7.

Still, there is more rain needed. According to the index, the area with SEVERE drought conditions need 6 to 8 more inches of rain to break the drought. The severe drought area needs a full 10 inches of rainfall to get back to normal soil moisture levels.

We are going in the right direction. Rains from former Hurricane Isaac brought lots of rain to area along and south of the Ohio turnpike. Rainfall this weekend should range between 1/2 inch to 3 inches area-wide. The bottom line: the grass will keep on growing and you will need to keep on mowing.