For the first time since November 2019, the Tri-Cities is no longer listed as having drought or abnormally dry conditions according to the National Drought Mitigation Center, which maintains the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The scale this center uses starts with abnormally dry (D0) then proceeds from moderate drought (D1) to exceptional drought (D4). At the peak of the multi-year drought for the Tri-Cities, exceptional drought conditions were observed – a first in the whole of Washington since the drought monitor was started in 2000.
Since peaking in severity last summer, above average precipitation has been observed in most of Washington and parts of Oregon. In the Tri-Cities, which average around 7.5 inches of rain per year, just short of 9 inches have been observed so far this water year with about a month and a half left.
The Tri-Cities were cleared from drought conditions in May, but with less persistent precipitation observed during June and July (which is typical) improvement stagnated and abnormally dry conditions lasted. Recent monsoon moisture got the area over the hump.
Drought and abnormally dry conditions persist in parts of the Pacific Northwest. In the northern Columbia Basin, around places like Coulee City, small areas of moderate drought continue to hang on.
Aside from the Willamette Valley, Northeast Oregon, and adjacent mountains, Oregon has not seen enough rain so far this water year to entirely wipe away the abnormally dry conditions of the last few years. Exceptional drought (D4) remains in sections of Central Oregon with wide swaths of severe and extreme drought elsewhere (D2-3).
There is no strong signal for what amount of precipitation to expect this fall but above average temperatures are favored by the Climate Prediction Center. La Niña continues in the equatorial Pacific, which is favorable for more precipitation over the winter, but it is projected to weaken as the year draws to a close.
The U.S. Drought Monitor is updated by the National Drought Mitigation Center each Tuesday and is published on Thursdays.
