Areas across the northern Miami Valley are experiencing worse conditions where rainfall deficits are more than 6 inches below normal.
There is some good news for farmers and the rest of us looking for water on our gardens and lawns as more moisture begins to stream toward the Ohio Valley. The latest forecast calls for a frontal boundary to stall across our area, enhancing the chances for showers and storms beginning as early as Tuesday afternoon.
The front, while weak, will continue to bring in chances for showers and storms through Friday.
A stronger cold front is expected to then slowly drift into our area by Saturday, perhaps bringing the best chances for widespread rain.
The problem though is that showers and storms may produce locally heavy rainfall that occurs very quickly. The dry ground is also hard, which will cause any fast and heavy rain to quickly run off and not soak into the ground.
The hope is that prolonged chances for rain over the coming days will at least provide some relief to drought-stricken areas. It’s unlikely, though, that the coming rain this week will put too much of a dent into the deficit, but we will take what we can get.
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Eric Elwell is WHIO Storm Center 7 chief meteorologist. Contact him at eric.elwell@coxinc.com or follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
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