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April 26, 2026 Soil Moisture, Condition Monitoring and Drought Update

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April 26, 2026 Soil Moisture, Condition Monitoring and Drought Update

Apr 26, 2026
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US Drought Monitor

Mildly Dry conditions at Cheviot OH 3.4W.

Widespread dry and drought conditions in the western, southern, and eastern US, including everywhere along and south of the Mason-Dixon line from extreme southern Missouri eastward, the southwest, New England, the central plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the northwest. Increasingly severe drought in Kentucky is inching into southern Ohio.

 

Condition Monitoring Report  
Station Number: OH-HM-24
Station Name: Cheviot 3.4 W
Report Date: 4/26/2026
Submitted: 4/26/2026 2:47 PM
Scale Bar: Mildly Dry
Description:
0.43 inch of rain in the past week and 2.05 inch in April. This is a bit of an improvement but still well below 
normal for April. Before 0.41 fell a couple nights ago, soils were dry and cracking, some shrubs were beginning
to show signs of wilting, and lawn growth had slowed. Stream levels are below normal.
Categories: General Awareness
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Hail Obs Photo
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Hail Obs Photo

Other Drought links:

Please remember to water…correctly!

Water once per week, one inch per week, under the entire branch spread, in the absence of rain, May through November. Either rainfall or your watering should equal the one inch per week. Do not water if the soil is already moist. Put out a sprinkler and a straight sided soup can or rain gauge and measure one inch per week. Measure the rainfall which falls in your yard. Your trees don’t care what fell at the airport!

If burlap was left on new trees, it will repel water and the tree or shrub may die. Be sure burlap and twine are removed from the top of all root balls. If your landscaper disagrees, refer him or her to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) industry standard for installation of landscape plants.

To the extent possible recycle fallen leaves back into the soil around the trees and maintain mulch around the trees to a radius of at least 3-5 feet. Keep mulch off trunks. Use a coarse textured mulch. Avoid triple shredded mulch. Aged arborist wood chips ( https://getchipdrop.com/ ), mulched and composted leaves, pine bark, and pine straw are all good. Very finely ground mulches such as triple ground hardwood mulch are not beneficial and may inhibit moisture and oxygen exchange.

Drought: How Dry Seasons Affect Woody Plants>>>

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