You don’t need to pay much attention to our local weather to realize that it’s been very dry this summer in east-central Ohio. This week’s Drought Monitor shows what most folks already know – we need rain desperately here.
With only 3 days left in meteorological summer, a grand total of 4.59 inches of rain has fallen since June 1 as recorded at the New Philadelphia airport. That’s roughly one-third of the 12.36 inches of rain we would normally expect for the same time period.
To say it’s been dry this year is an understatement. This year is the dryest summer we’ve seen since the National Weather Service began gathering record data at the airport in 1998.
While there can be a random shower or thunderstorm this afternoon, our best odds of rain locally will come Friday night and Saturday. It won’t amount to much – and certainly not enough to put much of a dent in our drought status. According to model averages, we’re looking at maybe a quarter to one-half-inch total between today through Saturday evening.
The rain Friday night and Saturday will also bring an end to the unseasonably hot temperatures and high humidity we’ve experienced this week in the Valley. Dry and much less humid conditions are expected Sunday and Labor Day with daytime highs more in tune with seasonal averages (around 80°).
