Valley’s brief rainfall Tuesday won’t restore your lawn

The last measurable amount of rain at the airport was June 19.

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning Valley was teased with a little bit of rain between 5 and 8 p.m. Tuesday, but not enough to relieve the drought conditions that have turned lawns brown.

Rainfall during that period ranged from 8⁄100 of an inch at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna to .24 of an inch at the Canfield Fairgrounds, said Frank Kieltyka, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland.

The last measurable amount of rain at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport was .99 of an inch on June 19, meaning it has not rained appreciably for 28 days.

Other area precipitation amounts recorded Tuesday evening were: North Lima, Brookfield and Mesopotamia, all 2⁄10 of an inch; and Mosquito Lake, 16⁄100 of an inch.

For those wanting more rain, Kieltyka said “that was it” for Tuesday night. But, he did hold out hope for more precipitation over the next couple of days, predicting a threat of more showers and thunder storms.

No relief

Tuesday’s rain was not nearly enough to revive brown lawns and farmers’ thirsty crops.

Kieltyka said it would require 2 to 4 inches of rain across Northeast Ohio to “put a dent” in the drought, and at least a couple of inches of rain spread over a one- or two-week period to turn lawns green again.

If the rainfall comes all at once, too much of it runs off into streams, ponds, rivers and lakes and does not soak into the soil, he said.

Kieltyka said dry spells like this one are not uncommon in most years. In 2006, for instance, he said the dry spell was in May.

Overall this year, rainfall at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport is only 1.64 inches below normal. Since June 1, however, rainfall is 2.46 inches below normal, Kieltyka said.

alcorn@vindy.com