Northwest drought

The Washington state Department of Ecology has issued an “unprecedented halt” to surface water use for the Yakima Basin starting today through the end of October.

(Runtime 4:11) On the south slope of Rattlesnake Mountain in the Yakima Valley, north of Prosser, water is measured by the puny drip. Jim Willard grows…

(Runtime :51)After being blasted with snow in early January, are snowpack levels in Oregon and Washington looking a lot better?Matt Warbritton with the…

Even with all the rain and snow in California this winter, it’s been pretty dry in our region, especially in much of eastern Oregon and parts of eastern Washington.

Some stunted wheat fields won’t see the combine this summer. Cattle operators are severely cutting back their herds for lack of grass. Little moisture since February in wide swaths of the Northwest is to blame. And drought is deepening across the West, with federal drought maps showing massive and growing areas of red.

The Northwest could see a cooler and wetter winter this season, according to climate outlook models. Forecasters say it’s likely that a recently developed La Niña weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean will continue. That should lead to above average precipitation in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

According to a new federal drought monitor map, the long-running dry spell finally looks to be over in most of the Northwest. Heavy snows and precipitation in February and early March have made up the difference. That’s good news for ranchers, irrigators, river rafters and salmon.

The Northwest has seen plenty of snow and cold temperatures these last few weeks. But forecasters say some areas could still face drought this summer.

Wildfire activity in the American West is likely to get worse in coming years. A new study out in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences points to the lack of precipitation in the summer as the major driving factor when it comes to increasing fire severity.

The U.S. Drought Monitor says the entire state of Washington is abnormally dry. In Oregon, nearly 90 percent of the state is facing moderate to severe drought.