As of August 31, 31.43 inches of rain had fallen in 2013 vs. 24.39 in 2012. Additionally, we had 6 days of 100+ in 2012, and only a few days topping 90 in 2013. Still, August this year, and the last half of July, were dryer than normal, and while not the extreme of 2012 by any means, the Palmer drought index put us into drought last week:
Here is the year to year comparison for the US Drought Monitor. The drought monitor is slow to update but it works for a comparison:
2013:
2012:
Note that the recent drought monitor shows no dry conditions in Ohio, while the recent Palmer shows moderate drought. In many ways, I consider the Drought Monitor almost worthless for timely comparison, but it does OK for a year to year comparison. Best use: Compare 2012 Drought Monitor to 2013 Palmer!