Washington Drought

The water supply for central Washington continues to dwindle, and irrigation demands will not be met this season in the Yakima Basin.  The Bureau of Reclamation’s June Total Water Supply Available Forecast indicates senior water rights will receive 100% full entitlements, but junior water rights will only receive 43% of their full entitlements this year.  That is a  decreas...

On Tuesday, the Roza Irrigation district temporarily stopped diverting water for a "temporary drought related shutdown".  The move came after Roza was notified by the Bureau of Reclamation that water rationing would start on May 20 and runs for 7-13 days.  Reclama...

According to the state Department of Ecology, drought conditions continue in central Washington and may be developing in the northern and even western parts of the state.  And the recent Water Supply Availability Committee meeting indicated existing drought conditions are likely to persist through the summer, and in some areas, conditions may worsen. T...

As we start the month of May, several parts of the Northwest are already reporting dry soil conditions.     According to the latest numbers from USDA, 46% of Idaho is Abnormally Dry, or under a D0 drought designation.  Much of that stretches from the panhandle, south across the foothills of the Rockies to the Wyoming border.  On top of that, 1...

As of February 13th, the Washington Department of Ecology said it was too early to tell if enough snowpack had accumulated to lift the 2024 drought declaration.  Experts are concerned that at this point, it will take more snow than Washington will likely see before the spring to offset the dry conditions the state experienced last year.   ...

USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey noted many portions of the Northwest could see new wildfires in the coming days, or even the possibility of some re-flaring of older fires, because of a cold front expected to move across the area Thursday and Friday...

According to the latest figures from the U.S. Drought Monitor, only 13% of Washington is where it should be soil moisture wise for this time of year; and much of that is on the Peninsula.  Over 2% of the Evergreen state is under a D-3, or Extreme Drought designation, with most of that reported in the central part of the state.     ...

The Northwest remains very dry with two dozen days to go to spring.   According to the latest drought numbers, 92% of Oregon is Abnormally Dry, while 77% of the state is under a D-1, or Moderate Drought, designation.  Both of those figures increased over the past week.  Meanwhile, S...

Dry conditions continue for much of the Pacific Northwest.  But for one state, soil moisture conditions have returned close to normal.   According to the latest USDA numbers, 34% of Washington is considered abnormally dry for this time of year.  That is a dr...

Soil conditions continue to worsen across the region.   According to the latest USDA numbers, all of Washington is under some kind of drought designation, with 38% of the state under the D1, or Moderate Drought Designation.  The remaining portion of the Evergreen state is considered abnormally dry for this time of year.    ...