West Virginia
Expanding drought conditions stretching to Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – This week’s drought monitor continues to show slowly expanding and deteriorating drought conditions across Western Pennsylvania.
More of Westmoreland and Fayette counties have been added to severe drought levels and Lawrence and Mercer counties have been upgraded from abnormally dry to moderate drought.
The month of September, so far, has not been of any help with regard to the weather pattern after a very erratic summer precipitation pattern. Through Sept. 18, this month is currently the second driest September on record in Pittsburgh with only 0.45″ of rain recorded at the airport.
There is still a week and a half left in the month and with precipitation chances on the way, this stat will likely not hold, but more than likely, this month will end with below-average precipitation.
No measurable precipitation has occurred since Sept. 7, which would make today the 12th day in a row with no measurable precipitation. The longest stretch without any measurable precipitation in Pittsburgh is 26 days from mid-October to early November 1874.
In neighboring Ohio and West Virginia, drought conditions are far worse with widespread “Extreme” and “Exceptional” drought conditions.
For Ohio and West Virginia, this is the first time exceptional drought has been added to these states ever since the Drought Monitor began in 2000. Extreme drought is also not common in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Since 2000, Pennsylvania and West Virginia have only been in extreme drought four times, while Ohio has only seen extreme drought three times.
Drought is impacting Western Pennsylvania by leading to daily low streamflow rates on our area rivers and creeks.
The following rivers are reporting much below normal (10th percentile) streamflow: Beaver River at Beaver Falls, Youghiogheny River from Friendstown to Oakland, Md., Loyalhanna Creek in Westmoreland County and Monongahela River at Masontown, Pa.
Several stream gauging stations in Ohio and West Virginia are reporting much below and record low daily stream flow. Other impacts from the drought include reduced harvest yields, muted fall foliage, greater water usage and increased wildfire risks.
All 105 is a West Virginia Sports Now series profiling each member of the 2026 WVU Football Roster.
Wide receiver Charlie Hanafin committed to move from Massachusetts to West Virginia about one year ago.
Listed at 6-foot and 181-pounds, Hanafin is from Dexter Southfield in Brookline, Massachusetts.
He chose the Mountaineers over staying closer to home at Boston College. Northeastern schools like Brown, Bryant, Bicknell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Elon, New Hampshire, Richmond, Stony Brook and Yale were also interested.
WVU took notice of Hanafin when he impressed the coaches at a recent camp for high school players looking to get noticed and improve their recruitment.
89 • Charlie Hanafin, freshman wide receiver
Last Year: Hanafin played wide receiver and defensive back at Dexter Southfield High.
Stats: He caught 17 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns.
Post-Camp Outlook: More time is necessary to determine the outlook for Hanafin as a freshman, but injuries will likely be necessary for him to see significant playing time beyond the FCS game.
Projected Role: TBD
Accolades, Highlights: As a senior, Hanafin earned All-Independent School League team honors and first-team 2025 preseason all-ISL honors by the Boston Herald.
Coverage Links:
2026 WR Charlie Hanafin Commits to WVU Football Over Staying Closer to Home
Rich Rodriguez may be out in Omaha, Nebraska, supporting the West Virginia baseball team, but he is still reeling in commits left and right. Friday evening, the Mountaineers picked up a verbal pledge from class of 2027 running back Khamoni Williams (5’11”, 210 lbs) out of Southwind High School in Memphis, Tennessee.
The consensus three-star recruit picked the Mountaineers over offers from Auburn, Colorado, Florida State, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pitt, Purdue, USC, Wisconsin, and several others.
Williams popped onto the radar of colleges nationwide when he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark as a sophomore, finishing the 2024 campaign with 1,151 yards and 13 touchdowns on 125 carries, playing in just eight games. That’s an average of 143.9 yards per game — insane stuff for a sophomore. This past season, Williams saw his overall numbers dip to 892 yards and seven touchdowns, but he had fewer opportunities, getting just 85 carries. He upped his per-carry average by 1.4 yards.
Williams becomes the third running back to commit to West Virginia in the 2027 class, joining Lee Prince Jr. and Bryian Duncan, who recently flipped from Kentucky.
The Scouting Report on Khamoni Williams
He’s listed at 5’11”, but looks to be 6’0″ or maybe even 6’1″. Good size and has the look of an every-down back already, let alone once he gets to Morgantown and bulks up. Super twitchy back that does a good job of remaining at top speed while changing direction. Once he gets out to the perimeter, he becomes very dangerous. Took a lot of snaps at quarterback in a Wildcat formation, oftentimes turning them into big gains. The vision is elite, so it’s no wonder they had him playing that role as much as they did.
The running back room for 2027 is starting to get pretty crowded with an infusion of young talent, but Williams has just as good a chance of seeing the field early as any of them.
West Virginia’s current 2027 recruiting class
QB Andre Phillip II, RB Bryian Duncan, RB Lee Prince Jr., RB Khamoni Williams, WR Brock Burrus, WR Carter Davis, WR Roscoe Hayes, WR Jacobi Pasley, OL Ethan Lawson, DL Zai’Vion Meads, DL DaJour Webb, EDGE Trevoris Finley, EDGE Chris Wilson, LB Broncs Baker, LB Rick Brown, LB Mason Cerovac, LB Wesley Flamer, CB Carter Bonner, CB Zachary Gleason Jr.
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West Virginia has landed another key piece to its 2027 class, securing a commitment Memphis (Tenn.) Southwind three-star running back Moni Williams on Friday night.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder chose the Mountaineers over offers from Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Ole Miss, Auburn and a host of other programs. Williams visited WVU earlier this month and a little less than two weeks later has joined the class.
He is the 19th commitment for Rich Rodriguez and Co., who have assembled the Big 12’s No. 3 class and the No. 34 group nationally in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.
Williams himself ranks as the No. 529 prospect nationally and No. 40 running back in the cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services.
Rivals, however, is higher on him than both 247Sports and ESPN. In the most recent rankings update in April, he was tabbed as the No. 34 running back in the country and No. 19 player in the state of Tennessee.
He is coming off a breakout junior season where he rushed 84 times for 892 yards (10.6 YPC) and seven touchdowns. In the passing game, he hauled in 17 passes for 263 yards and a pair of scores. Williams joins a class headlined by four-stars Chris Wilson and Carter Bonner, along with seven other prospects who rank among the top-800 nationally.
The class is shaping up to be another big one for Rodriguez and his staff, who signed a record-breaking 49 prospects out of the high school and junior college ranks last year. That class finished among the top-20 nationally and No. 2 in the Big 12.
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