Ohio
Ohio drought: Did Hurricane Helene remnants alleviate dry conditions around the state?
Drought in Ohio: How farms, ecosystems will be hurt by ongoing drought
A dried-up wetland is just one sign of the drought plaguing Ohio farms and ecosystems.
Ohio’s ongoing historic drought lessened over the past week after remnants of Hurricane Helene swept over the state, according to a new map from the U.S. Drought Monitor.
A record-high of 1.44 inches of rain fell on Columbus Friday and showers continued into the weekend.
Franklin County is no longer considered in an exceptional drought, the worst possible dry condition, according to the drought monitor’s newest map. However, a significant chunk of the county remains in the severe to extreme drought.
Extreme drought conditions also disappeared entirely from southwest Ohio in the new map, and a large band of exceptional drought has receded to southeast Ohio.
Only 2% of the state was drought-free on Sept. 24. Now, 14% of the state is clear of dry conditions, mostly in south-central and northeast Ohio, according to U.S. Drought Monitor Data.
Significant swathes of the state have had their drought downgraded from severe to moderate, and abnormally dry conditions—the least severe drought level—have become more common.
Ohio’s drought severity and coverage index, a score from 0 to 500 that measures the state’s general drought levels, fell from 298 to 212 over the past week.
While the previous weekend’s rain has helped, the state will need several rainfall events to exit the drought fully, an NWS meteorologist previously told The Dispatch.
There isn’t much rain in the National Weather Service’s upcoming forecast. Here’s what to expect.
Columbus weather for the week of Oct. 3, 2024
- Thursday: It’ll be sunny with a high near 79.
- Thursday night: It’ll be mostly clear with a low around 52.
- Friday: There will be patchy fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, it’ll be mostly sunny with a high near 79.
- Friday Night: It’ll be mostly clear with a low around 53.
- Saturday: It’ll be sunny with a high near 76.
- Saturday Night: It’ll be clear with a low around 53.
- Sunday: There’s a chance of showers after 2 p.m. It’ll be sunny with a high near 84. The chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Sunday Night: There’s a chance of showers before 8 p.m. It’ll be mostly clear with a low around 50. The chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Monday: It’ll be sunny with a high near 69.
- Monday Night: It’ll be clear with a low around 45.
- Tuesday: It’ll be sunny with a high near 68.
- Tuesday Night: It’ll be clear with a low around 44.
- Wednesday: It’ll be sunny with a high near 69.
NHart@dispatch.com
@NathanRHart
Ohio
National Weather Service says more snow for Northeast Ohio next week
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The National Weather Service said Saturday evening that even though the Northeast Ohio region has had plenty of snow to go around from the last three and a half days, more snow is on the way.
NWS meteorologist Mike Griffin said there will be lingering snow flurries and showers Saturday night. After the last few days of snow, Welshfield, in Geauga County, saw the most snowfall with 16.1 inches, he said, followed by North Royalton with 15.1 (Cuyahoga County); Burton with 13.9 (Geauga); Brunswick with 13.2 (Medina); Broadview Heights with 13.1 (Cuyahoga); Rusell Center with 10.3 (Geauga); Strongsville with 10 (Cuyahoga) and Hinckley with 9.6 (Medina).
“The past few days (of snow) have been more deeper in the snow belt than the secondary snow belt,” Griffin said. The primary snow belt takes up most of Northeast Ohio, including Lake, Ashtabula, Geauga and eastern Cuyahoga counties, he said, whereas the secondary snow belt includes eastern Lorain County, western Cuyahoga County and Medina, Summit and Portage counties.
Most of the time the primary snow belt is the one that gets hit the worst, he said, when the wind blows from north-northwest. This week’s storm brought wind that came from the western end of Lake Erie, hitting the secondary snow belt, which is more inland, Griffin said.
Northeast Ohio should expect light snow showers Sunday night into Monday. Another, more heavy lake effect snow will approach on Tuesday into the end of the week, Griffin said.
Kaylee Remington is the shopping and entertainment commerce reporter and metro reporter for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Read her work online.
Ohio
Ohio State Buckeyes Transfer Expected to Land with Rising Big Ten Opponent
The Ohio State Buckeyes have seen a handful of players opt to enter the NCAA transfer portal. One of them is offensive lineman Zen Michalski.
Michalski joined Ohio State in the 2021 recruiting class. In that class, he was the No. 22 ranked offensive tackle in the nation and the No. 3 recruit in the state of Indiana.
When he originally committed, the Buckeyes felt that he had a chance to become a huge piece of the future. Unfortunately, that has not been the case.
Now, it sounds like he has found his new team. That team also happens to be a rising opponent for Ohio State in the Big Ten.
According to a report from Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, Michalski is expected to take his talents and transfer to the Indiana Hoosiers.
Joining the Hoosiers will be somewhat of a homecoming for Michalski. He is from Indiana and will be joining a team that ended up making the College Football Playoff this season.
Under head coach Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers are back on track. They got blown out in the playoff, but the program is building the right way and has a chance to be a very serious contender in the coming years.
Michalski could end up being a huge get for Indiana. He would have a chance to play a consistent role and prove that he still has the ability that made him such a high-profile recruit back in 2021.
Coming into the offseason, the Hoosiers needed to find a right tackle. Michalski would be able to slide right into that position and start for Indiana. It’s a perfect fit for both the team and the player.
As for the Buckeyes, the loss of Michalski should not impact them much at all. He did not play much and they will have plenty of talented offensive line depth in 2025.
Seeing him land with the Hoosiers stings a bit, but Ohio State shouldn’t lose sleep over this likely outcome.
Ohio
Michigan State Insider Podcast: Recapping Spartans’ Win Over Ohio State
No. 18 Michigan State extended its win streak to seven games with its 69-62 victory over Ohio State on Thursday.
The Spartans went into Columbus and were able to pull off the road win, despite blowing a 14-point lead in the second half.
It was a valiant late-game effort for Michigan State, which improved to 12-2 on the season and is 1-0 to start 2025. The Spartans are also 3-0 in conference play.
Our Aidan Champion recaps the contest on this postgame edition of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast.
You can watch the episode below:
Michigan State senior center Szymon Zapala led the way with 15 points. He also recorded two blocks. Spartan senior guard Jaden Akins did his part on offense as well, scoring 14 in the victory.
Redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was arguably the MVP of the game for the Spartans as he posted 6 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Sophomore forward Xavier Booker had a bounce-back performance after falling off in his last two outings. He finished with 9 points and two blocks.
Junior forward Jaxon Kohler nearly ended up with another double-double, scoring 8 points while collecting 10 rebounds.
Sophomore forward Coen Carr tallied 11 points. He was efficient from the charity stripe, knocking down 7-of-8 free throws.
The Spartans were tested by veteran guard Bruce Thornton, who was a huge part of the Buckeyes’ comeback late. They also had to deal with Ohio State’s leading scorer in the contest, junior guard Micah Parrish, who finished with 13 points and also excelled down the stretch.
Michigan State struggled from deep in the contest and continued to have trouble turning the ball over. But it was able to overcome those issues and secure the road win, a tough feat in the Big Ten, especially considering the setbacks.
The Spartans will look to build on their perfect start to conference play with a home matchup against Washington on Thursday. It will be the first time the two teams face off since 2010 when Michigan State narrowly defeated the Huskies, 76-71, in the Maui Invitational. That game is set for 8 p.m. EST.
Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
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