HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 501 PM EST WED NOV 7 2007
...WELL ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL HAS MITIGATED DROUGHT CONDITIONS...
IN A PORTION OF THE SUMMER DROUGHT-STRICKEN AREA...ABUNDANT OCTOBER RAINFALL HAS BROUGHT PRECIPITATION...SOIL MOISTURE AND STREAMFLOWS CLOSER TO NORMAL FOR FALL.
THE HEAVY RAIN DURING THE LAST WEEK IN OCTOBER YIELDED TOTAL MONTHLY RAINFALL FROM 6 TO OVER 7 INCHES FOR MUCH OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY...SOUTHEAST INDIANA AND SOUTHWEST OHIO. NORMAL OCTOBER RAINFALL IS GENERALLY AROUND 3 INCHES...SO MANY LOCATIONS FINISHED OUT THE MONTH WITH RAINFALL FROM 3 TO 4 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL.
OCTOBER IS ALSO MARKS A STEEP DECLINE IN WATER USAGE. AS A RESULT... DROUGHT MONITOR LEVELS HAVE BEEN REDUCED BY TWO OR EVEN THREE CATEGORIES IN SOME LOCATIONS JUST SINCE MID OCTOBER. THE AREA EXPERIENCING THE LEAST CHANGE IS IN SOUTH CENTRAL OHIO AND NORTHEAST KENTUCKY. THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES REMAIN IN THE SEVERE DROUGHT CATEGORY...ADAMS...SCIOTO...LEWIS. THE COUNTIES REMAINING IN THE MODERATE DROUGHT CATEGORY INCLUDE...BRACKEN...BROWN...ADAMS... HIGHLAND...PIKE.
IN MID OCTOBER...THE ABOVE COUNTIES WERE ALL IN THE EXTREME DROUGHT CATEGORY.
THE DATA CUTOFF TIME FOR UPDATES OF THE NATIONAL DROUGHT MONITOR CATEGORIES EACH WEEK ENDS 8 AM ON TUESDAY MORNINGS. SO RAIN THAT FALLS ACROSS THE REGION DURING THE DAY ON TUESDAY AND INTO WEDNESDAY IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE WEEKLY DROUGHT MONITOR UPDATES.
WITH THE GROWING SEASON ENDED...AS WELL AS THE RECORD SETTING HIGH TEMPERATURES AND HIGH WATER USAGE SEASON...DROUGHT IMPACTS ARE NOT AS APPARENT IN THE FALL AND INTO THE WINTER...DESPITE ANNUAL PRECIPITATION DEFICITS OF 8 TO 9 INCHES IN SOME LOCATIONS.
THE LINGERING EFFECTS OF THE DROUGHT REMAIN...HOWEVER. THERE IS STILL WIDESPREAD CONCERN ACROSS SOUTHERN OHIO AND NORTHERN KENTUCKY REGARDING PASTURE CONDITIONS FOR THE 2008 GROWING SEASON. MANY PASTURES WILL HAVE TO BE COMPLETELY REESTABLISHED NEXT SEASON. THERE IS ALSO AN ONGOING CONCERN ABOUT AVAILABILITY OF WINTER FEED FOR LIVESTOCK AND HORSES.
THE RECENT RAINFALL HAS COMPLETELY CLOSED THE PRECIPITATION DEFICITS FOR THE YEAR FOR BOTH COLUMBUS AND DAYTON. EVEN WITH A WET OCTOBER...A SIGNIFICANT DEFICIT STILL EXISTS FOR CINCINNATI.
FOR CINCINNATI...THE PRECIPITATION IS AS FOLLOWS:
STATION SINCE JAN 1 INCHES BELOW NORMAL CINCINNATI 28.33 8.19
THE NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER MONITORS AND DETECTS DROUGHT ACROSS THE NATION. THE DROUGHT MONITOR REPRESENTS A CONSENSUS OF FEDERAL...STATE AND ACADEMIC SCIENTISTS. EACH WEEK... THE DROUGHT MONITOR ISSUES A NATIONWIDE UPDATED DROUGHT INTENSITY MAP. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES THESE HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK STATEMENTS ANY TIME A PORTION OF THE AREA IS CATEGORIZED AS SEVERE DROUGHT CONDITIONS...WHICH IS QUANTIFIED AS CATEGORY D2 ON THE DROUGHT MONITOR MAP.
SEVEN DAY MEAN STREAMFLOW IS VARIED ACROSS THE REGION. WHILE MOST LOCATIONS ARE WITHIN THE NORMAL RANGE COMPARED TO HISTORIC NOVEMBER VALUES...THERE ARE STILL SEVERAL LOCATIONS WITH SEVEN DAY MEAN STREAMFLOW AT ONLY 20 PERCENT OF NORMAL OR EVEN LOWER.
MOST AREA WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIRS ARE EITHER APPROACHING OR ALREADY SETTLED INTO WINTER FLOOD CONTROL POOL LEVELS. SO WATER LEVELS ARE NO LONGER BELOW NORMAL AT SOME RESERVOIRS.
ONLY LIGHT SHOWERS ARE FORECAST OVER THE NEXT WEEK. IN THE 8 TO 14 DAY PERIOD...NEAR TO BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED.
WITH THE GROWING SEASON ENDED...FEWER DROUGHT STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED. ONLY MONTHLY STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED THROUGH THE WINTER MONTHS...BUT ONLY IF ANY PORTION OF THE AREA IS CONSIDERED IN THE D1 OR MODERATE DROUGHT CATEGORY.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...PLEASE REFER TO THE DROUGHT MONITOR WEB SITE:
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
FOR LOCAL DROUGHT INFORMATION...PLEASE REFER TO THE NWS WILMINGTON DROUGHT PAGE:
http://www.weather.gov/iln/droughtinfo.htm
FOR INTERACTIVE DISPLAY OF RAINFALL OVER VARIOUS TIME PERIODS... PLEASE REFER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PRECIPITATION ANALYSIS PAGE:
http://water.weather.gov/