A Punch Of Late Winter Weather Means Diminished Drought Across The Northwest According to a new federal drought monitor map, the long-running dry spell finally looks to be over in most of the Northwest. The Washington and Oregon drought monitor maps have largely lost their orange and brown color coding — indicating more severe drought conditions. 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. Still, not all areas are seeing the benefits. In north-central Washington’s Okanogan County, there’s still a splotch of tan on the map — meaning moderate drought. And the surrounding counties are still dry, along with the very southern and central part of the state. Oregon is even drier — “abnormally” dry almost everywhere. With large swaths of moderate drought. And most of Deschutes County is still in severe drought. Still, that’s an improvement, and water managers are hoping the deep snowpack will melt out slowly. At the start of 2020, the situation looked dismal. After a dry start to the season, Washington and Oregon had less than half the amount of snow they’d normally see in the mountains. Then came the first few weeks of January. Continue Reading Low Snow To Snowmageddon: January Dumps Gave Needed Bump To Northwest’s Lagging SnowpackNew research says climate change is decreasing the amount of snow in the Pacific Northwest. And that has implications for water resources in the region. Continue Reading Research Suggests Climate Change Is Reducing Snowfall In The NorthwestAll this snow so late in the season prompts the much-asked question: Is this climate change? Kathie Dello, a climatologist with Oregon State University in Corvallis, says this late-winter snow is perfectly normal. But, it doesn’t mean the larger picture is all fine. Continue Reading East Of The Cascades, Lingering Snow Means Struggle For Northwest Fauna