Worsening drought

Tuesday was the cutoff date for the data used to generate the current US drought monitor so it does not take into account rainfall from Hurricane Francine.

All of Hamilton and Butler County are now in moderate drought as well as northern Clermont county. Most of Warren County is now in severe drought. The northern third of Franklin County is in severe drought while the southern 2/3 is in extreme drought. Most of adjacent Pickaway County is in exceptional drought. 95% of the state of Ohio is at least abnormally dry with 78% of the state of Ohio at least in moderate drought. 24% of the state is at least in extreme drought and the area in exceptional drought has increased to 8.4%.

Nearly 60% of Kentucky is at least in moderate drought with areas of severe drought in Northern Kentucky, NE Kentucky, central Kentucky, and much of Western Kentucky. 21% of the state of Kentucky is listed as being in severe drought.

92% of the state of Indiana is at least abnormally dry with 51% of the state, encompassing all of southern and eastern indiana, at least in moderate drought and a small portion of southwest Indiana in severe drought.

What remains of tropical storm Francine will provide beneficial rains to parts of Kentucky and southwest Indiana but for the rest of the area there is little hope for substantive rain over the next week or two. Rain chances do appear to increase a bit in the 8-to-14-day period but that possibility is rather nebulous.