CFAES experts know the challenges Ohio growers and producers face due to a variety of reasons. A Rapid Response Team was created to quickly address current events and offer the best science-based recommendations to protect livestock, crops, and farm operations due to weather impacts, tariffs, commodity prices, and extreme events.
October 23, 2025: Another potent cold front brought rain to most of the state this past weekend, continuing the trend of improving drought conditions across southern and eastern Ohio. Most areas received 0.75-1.25” except for our northwest Ohio counties (van Wert to Ottawa). Temperatures behind the front have been markedly cooler, with highs in the 40s and 50s. Strong northwesterly wind across Lake Erie is creating heavy lake effect rain showers and storms in places like Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, and Lake Counties. Frost and freeze potential is very much at play over the next couple of days as well (October 23 – 25).
This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor shows not much change across northwest Ohio, where ~10% of the state remains in D3-extreme drought conditions, with a slight drop in the overall D2-D3 area (~19%). Drought is confined to northwest, far northern, and far eastern Ohio, with most areas along and southeast of I-71 showing near normal to abnormally dry conditions (D0). Soil moisture and stream flows remain low across the driest areas, with numerous field fire reports continuing in some counties.
Temperatures will remain seasonally cool this week (October 23 – 29) with highs in the 50s and overnight lows in the 30s. Dry weather, except for those Lake Erie Counties in northeast Ohio should remain dry until early next week. Another system could bring a few rounds of rain showers on Monday through Wednesday (October 27-29). Public reports of conditions are always welcome and can be made by visiting go.osu.edu/drought_cmor. Our next update will be provided on October 29, 2025.
Current Conditions Update
- Seven-day precipitation ending at 8 am October 2 shows widespread 0.5+ inches of rain with pockets of 1-2 inches.
- Heavy rain (1-3 inches) has fallen in Lake County overnight (October 23).
- Mercer/van Wert to Ottawa received less than 0.5 inches in the past seven days
- Precipitation deficits over the last 30 days (September 22 – October 21) indicate that northwest Ohio has received 25-50% of normal rain with much of southern and eastern Ohio received 150-300% of normal.
- Fire risk remains elevated across northwest Ohio, along with very low stream flows (5th-10th percentile in the 28-day average along the Maumee River).
- Temperatures will remain cool this week with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s (a few upper 20s are not out of the question).
- Precipitation forecast is currently showing less than 0.5 inches for most of Ohio; slightly higher in far northeast Ohio along Lake Erie.
- The medium-range outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center for the 6-10- and 8-14-day periods (October 21 – November 5) show near to below normal temperatures and near to above normal precipitation are probable.
Note: The U.S. Drought Monitor only includes precipitation for the week through 8 am Tuesday mornings.
Updates provided by:
Aaron Wilson, Ag Weather and Climate Field Specialist
Stephanie Karhoff, Agronomic Systems Field Specialist
Jason Hartschuh, Dairy Management and Precision Livestock Field Specialist
Garth Ruff, Beef Cattle and Livestock Marketing Field Specialist
Dave Marrison, Farm Management Field Specialists and Interim Director of the Farm Financial Management and Policy Institute
Logan Minter, Specialty Crops Field Specialist
Jim Downs, Forestry Field Specialist
Vinayak Shedekar, Agricultural Water Management
Jeff Hattey, Soil Management State Specialist
Chris Zoller, Interim Assistant Director, Extension ANR
Rob Hamilton, Division of Soil and Water Program Manager, Ohio Department of Agriculture
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For more current drought data, visit drought.gov.
Climate rankings for August will be released by NOAA on Tuesday September 9, 2025, which will likely show that August 2025 was one of the driest August’s on record since 1895. Despite some precipitation falling across the Buckeye State over the last seven days (mostly less than 1 inch), much of Ohio is running well below normal for the last 30 days (Figure 1). Last week’s U.S. Drought Monitor shows an increase in D0-abnormally dry and D1-moderate drought conditions to 83% and 29%, respectively.
Read more.
“If you can’t change the situation, you adapt.” That’s a familiar mindset for many in agriculture, and it’s especially true in 2025. This growing season has brought another round of extreme weather across Ohio and the Midwest, making forage production unpredictable and challenging.
Learn more
- Rapid drought intensification
- Manure application to parched soil
- Drought, an early harvest, and fall herbicide applications
- Dry conditions in corn - implications and recommendations
- Forage nitrate toxicity a major concern as drought worsens
- Debby surprises but drought intensifies across southeast
- Worsening drought conditions in southern Ohio
- Weather extremes abound
- Weed management in hot, dry conditions
- Wheat harvest and double crop considerations for 2024
- New ANR fact sheet summarizing corn response to long-term weather patterns
- Beating the heat on farms
Drainage
Managing Controlled Drainage Structures in Spring and Fall
Drought and Drainage
Video: Battle for the Belt
Video: Corn Response to Drought
The Ohio Department of Agriculture has an Ohio Hay Directory for producers trying to sell or buy hay during the drought updated for 2025. If you have hay to sell, add your information here.
Ohio State University Extension BEEF Team
Winter Feeding Options for Beef Cows - program schedule in October 2024
- Addressing Feed & Forage Shortages
- Manure Application to Parched Soil
- Ohio Beef Cattle Letter
- Feeding Storm-Damaged Soybean Grain to Cattle
- Drought 2024: Winter Feeding Options for Beef Cows
- Drought to Frost: Feeding Safe Forages
- "Fog Fever" a Fall Pasture Problem
- Making Decisions During Drought
- Using Drought Stressed Soybeans For Hay or Silage
- Managing Forage to Finish 2024
- The Summer Grazing Plan
- Managing Heat Stress in Beef Animals
- Considerations for Pasture Risk Management Decisions
- Pasture Management Strategies During Dry Conditions
- Drought Management (Ohio Beef Cattle Letter archives)
- Mow Pastures or Not
- OSU Extension BEEF Team videos
Agricultural operations in Ohio have been significantly impacted by recent drought. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) has programs available to help farmers and livestock producers recover from these adverse weather events. Impacted producers should contact their local USDA FSA Service Center to report their losses and learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure, and livestock losses and damages.
- Worksheet to Prepare for Your First Visit with USDA
- Establishing a Customer Record and Farm Record
- CRP Haying and Grazing (2025)
- Disaster Assistance At A Glance
- Disaster Assistance: ELAP - Livestock Assistance
- Farm-Raised Fish (2025)
- Honeybees (2025)
- Livestock (2025)
- Disaster Assistance: Emergency Disaster Designation and Declaration Process
- Disaster Assistance: Emergency Conservation Program (ECP)
- Disaster Assistance: Emergency Loan Program (updated)
- Disaster Assistance: LFP - Livestock Forage Disaster Program (2025)
- Disaster Assistance: Livestock Indemnity Program (2025)
- Disaster Assistance: Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (2025)
- Disaster Assistance: Tree Assistance Program
- Disaster Assistance: What is the U.S. Drought Monitor?
Turf Team Times - also available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify
Updates provided by:
Aaron Wilson, Ag Weather and Climate Field Specialist
Jim Downs, Forestry Field Specialist
Jason Hartschuh, Dairy Management and Precision Livestock Field Specialist
Jeff Hattey, Soil Management State Specialist
Stephanie Karhoff, Agronomic Systems Field Specialist
Dave Marrison, Farm Management Field Specialist and Interim Director of the Farm Financial Management and Policy Institute
Logan Minter, Specialty Crops Field Specialist
Garth Ruff, Beef Cattle and Livestock Marketing Field Specialist
Vinayak Shedekar, Agricultural Water Management
Chris Zoller, Interim Assistant Director, Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources
