An unusually strong area of high pressure is forecast to build over the Pacific Northwest during the next several days. The drought in place across much of the West (including the Columbia Basin) also adds a little to what temperatures the region may see. With soil moisture values low, there is little if any water […]
Mount Hood earthquake swarm not a cause of concern
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake was observed near Mount Hood late in the day on June 5. Minor shaking was reported by people living around the volcano, but earthquakes this small do not typically produce damage. It has produced many aftershocks in what geologists are calling an earthquake swarm. The USGS defines an earthquake swarm as […]
Columbia Basin now experiencing extreme drought
The National Drought Mitigation Center updates their Drought Monitor every Thursday, outlining the geographic details of drought conditions throughout North America. In today’s update, the extreme drought category was expanded to include much of Eastern Washington from the Tri-Cities northeast toward the Spokane area. Previously, only small sections near Prosser and Waitsburg were seeing extreme […]
Record highs in the Columbia Basin Wednesday, fire weather watch Friday with cool down expected
The Tri-Cities Airport observed its first 100 degree reading Wednesday afternoon thanks to this early June heatwave, leading to a new record. The preliminary high temperature was 104°, beating the old record of 103° set in 1986. A heat advisory remains in effect for the Columbia Basin until 20:00 Thursday with upper 90s likely for […]
Spring 2021 was third driest on record for Tri-Cities, driest in Walla Walla & Pendleton
This Spring will go down as the third driest on record for the Tri-Cities as dry conditions continue to plague much of the American West. A total of 0.31 inches of rain was observed during the months of March, April, and May (meteorological spring). Tri-Cities Driest Springs Rank Year Precipitation 1 1964 0.06″ 2 1900 […]