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February 14, 2026 Soil Moisture, Condition Monitoring and Drought Update

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February 14, 2026 Soil Moisture, Condition Monitoring and Drought Update

Feb 14, 2026

Mildly Dry conditions at Cheviot OH 3.4W.

Increasingly dry in the Ohio valley. Widespread moderate to extreme drought in parts of Indiana and  Ohio southwest into Texas, the south, the southeast, the east coast, New England, the Rocky Mountains, and the northwest. 

US Drought Monitor

us drought monitor map
Condition Monitoring Report  
Station Number: OH-HM-24
Station Name: Cheviot 3.4 W
Report Date: 2/14/2026
Submitted: 2/14/2026 8:25 AM
Scale Bar: Mildly Dry
Description:
No precipitation in the past week. Only 0.18 inch of liquid and melted precipitation in February. This is the 
third consecutive month with below normal precipitation, albeit with well above normal snowfall. With recent
warming weather, the snow pack, which contained over an inch of water, mostly melted over the past week so
surface soil moisture is abundant but runoff is low and stream levels are low.
Categories: General Awareness
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Photos
Hail Obs Photo
Hail Obs Photo
Hail Obs Photo
Hail Obs Photo
Hail Obs Photo
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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