PlainHazard

Ohio drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 82 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 415 drought records in Ohio from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 32 a year since 2000. The costliest was the September 1, 1999 drought ($209 million in 2025 dollars). Ohio ranks 36th of 51 states and territories by count and 39th of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Ohio, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
4151996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
32average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$209Mas filed
Busiest year
1999251 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Ohio?

Ohio averages about 32 drought records a year since 2000, 36th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1999 (251). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Ohio records 102 drought records since 1996, 39th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466
  11. 39. Ohio 102

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Ohio have the most drought records?

Per square mile, Lawrence County leads Ohio: 18 days with a drought record since 1996, 39.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Gallia County has the most drought records (18 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Lawrence County 39.7 (18)
  2. Gallia County 38.6 (18)
  3. Vinton County 36.4 (15)
  4. Jackson County 35.7 (15)
  5. Meigs County 34.9 (15)
  6. Perry County 27.0 (11)
  7. Morgan County 24.0 (10)
  8. Athens County 21.8 (11)
  9. Lake County 21.8 (5)
  10. Noble County 20.1 (8)
  11. Erie County 19.9 (5)
  12. Ottawa County 19.6 (5)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Ohio?

53% of its drought records since 1996 fell in August and September. The busiest month is August (132 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 0 · Apr 0 · May 5 · Jun 39 · Jul 82 · Aug 132 · Sep 90 · Oct 35 · Nov 23 · Dec 9 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest drought records in Ohio

Ohio: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1999-09-01 DroughtSeneca County · forecast zone Seneca One storm episode: 28 records in 28 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $209M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Ohio?

Ohio's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Ohio and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeOhioUnited StatesOhio's share
1996-992865,6005.1%
2000s3018,5710.2%
2010s031,4410
2020-269930,1470.3%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Ohio

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-10-01 DroughtWashington County · forecast zone Washington 0 0 –
2025-10-01 DroughtVinton County · forecast zone Vinton 0 0 –
2025-10-01 DroughtPerry County · forecast zone Perry 0 0 –
2025-09-01 DroughtWashington County · forecast zone Washington 0 0 –
2025-09-01 DroughtVinton County · forecast zone Vinton 0 0 –
2025-09-01 DroughtPerry County · forecast zone Perry 0 0 –
2025-09-01 DroughtMorgan County · forecast zone Morgan 0 0 –
2025-09-01 DroughtMeigs County · forecast zone Meigs 0 0 –
2025-09-01 DroughtLawrence County · forecast zone Lawrence 0 0 –
2025-09-01 DroughtJackson County · forecast zone Jackson 0 0 –
2025-09-01 DroughtGallia County · forecast zone Gallia 0 0 –
2025-09-01 DroughtAthens County · forecast zone Athens 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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