Washington 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…

Eastern Washington is in for another hot, dry summer. But – spring rains mean the west side of the state will no longer face a drought.

The Northwest is primed for fire season, and not in a good way. East of the Cascades, forecasters say this year could be worse than recent record-breaking fire seasons.

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.