It seems amazing to me how easily people have forgotten that practically the entire nation was steeped in a terrible drought this summer.  The Midwest had it really bad.  Only a few heavy but fleeting storms pummeled and I mean beat down on the area leaving destruction but little water in it’s wake. Here we are at the beginning of winter and though there are no scorching temperatures to remind us of how dry it is the lack of snow is scary.  Now don’t get me wrong – I like that the roads are clear but the lack of white on the ground has me concerned. This Midwest snow drought really has me concerned about our crops, yards and the availability of fresh water next year.

City

Avg Annual Precip

Avg Annual Snow 

Avg # days of Precip

Avg # thunderstorm days

Avg # hail days

Avg # severe thunderstorm watches per year

Avg # tornado watches per year

# of tornadoes reported in county, 1960-2010

Akron

38.47

47.1

155

38

2

1

11

11

Cleveland

38.71

58.6

156

34

1

1

10

11

Columbus

38.52

28.1

137

40

2

3

15

24

Dayton

39.58

27.5

132

38

1

4

13

8

Mansfield

43.24

43.6

143

35

1

2

12

26

Toledo

33.21

37.1

136

37

1

3

12

7

Youngstown

38.02

56.8

160

33

1

1

11

12

  • Ohio Annual Precipitation Average – 39.16″, 28th wettest in the U.S.
  • Ohio Tornado Average – 14.7 per year – 21st most in the U.S.
  • Date with highest number of reported Tornadoes in Ohio from 1950-2011, July 12th – 36 tornadoes
  • Ohio Annual Lightning Density – 11.2 flashes per square mile – 16th highest in U.S.    

Source: http://coolweather.net/staterainfall/ohio.htm

 

I started this post on January 10, 2013.  Here it is the 27th and we still have very little to show for rainfall or snowfall.  We are slated to receive freezing rain overnight.  This is truly awful for travel but our hope is that there is enough water that falls to increase the level of our ground water and thus our wells.  So many friends, family and neighbors having their wells dry out.  Some were able to get new wells drilled and still others had back up water from ponds.