We are dry and getting drier. July in Ohio was below normal for rain, and now August is shaping up to be very dry as well. Combine 2 summer months of dry weather with the heat of summer and you can easily head toward drought conditions. As of today we aren't in a drought, but if we remain below normal for the next several weeks we can't be far away either. For the year Ohio has a surplus of moisture due to a very wet June, but come September, if the dry weather persists, you can expect the "D" word to pop up more frequently in our weathercasts. While we are not anticipating a drought like last summer where much of southern Ohio had severely dry conditions, it could end up as two relatively dry summers in a row as part of an overall pattern. Since Mother Nature typically works with the "Law of Averages" I wonder if she'll get us back with heavy moisture in the fall or even this winter, which of course most Ohioans would hate to see. Any way you cut it, your lawn is most likely brown right now, and in that case you aren't cutting it at all...

Here's a link to the site we use to judge Ohio's drought condtions, it gets updated every Thursday morning. http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html

The Morning Guy

So far this month any attempt at sustained heat has been pushed away from Ohio from a series of troughs moving through the area. In fact, through the first third of this month we are averaging between normal and about 2 degrees below normal depending on where you live. Our extended forecast takes us half way throught the month, and it will continue be cooler than normal at that point. In the 10-day forecast there are no signs of 90 degree weather! Check out this image below showing a very cold trough for this time of year in southeast Canada valid Wednesday August 20th.

Click here for a larger image

Of course, this August is completely different from last August where 90 degree weather was commonplace in Ohio. Last August we were in a drought which adds to the heat and a developing La Nina helped keep the jet stream to our north and the cool air away.

While it may be cool for now, don't think fall has begun just yet. 90 degree weather is typical a handful of days in September, and even sometimes in October in any given year. The bottom line is, it may be a cool end to summer, but heat is possible again for us before it finally cools off as we head toward winter.