Climate Matters: Assessing Drought Impacts

The newest statewide drought declaration announced this week marks the fourth consecutive year with a drought declaration in at least some part of Washington State. With these recent droughts, WASCO has been working to better understand the myriad of ways that droughts can develop and their sector-specific impacts. 

Pacific Northwest Water Year 2025 Impacts Assessment Released

The sixth annual Pacific Northwest (PNW) Water Year Impacts Assessment provides a detailed evaluation of climate conditions and related impacts across Idaho, Oregon, and Washington during the 2025 water year (October 1, 2024–September 30, 2025).  

Early April Climate Outlook

Key Messages:

A transition to neutral ENSO conditions is likely this spring, then a transition to El Niño conditions is likely (>75% chance) by fall 2026. ENSO has very little influence on summer conditions in our region.  

March 2026 Climate Summary

Key Messages: 

Temperatures were about 1-4°F above normal in the eastern half of the state and near normal in much of western Washington. Small areas of below normal temperatures occurred in the higher elevations of the northwest Cascades. 

March 2026 Snowpack and Drought Summary

Key Messages: 

On April 8, the WA Department of Ecology issued a statewide Drought Emergency  due to very low snowpack and summer water supply concerns.
As of April 1, our statewide snowpack is well below normal at just 53% of median. 

March 2026 Notable Weather Events

Key Messages: 

March 11-18 brought heavy lowland rain, windstorms, and mountain snows to western Washington.

Warm conditions led to early season snowmelt which cut into snowpack gains earlier in the month. 

Late March Climate Outlook

What’s Next for the Pacific Northwest?
Warmer and Drier than normal April conditions are likely in the interior West and small portions of Washington.
The Climate Prediction Center’s monthly outlook for April 2026 shows an increased likelihood that ridging over the western United States will bring drier and warmer than normal conditions to the region. 

Climate Matters: Mountain Snowpack and Streamflow

With Washington’s statewide snowpack as of March 5th ranking as the 3rd lowest since modern records began in 1985, questions have been coming into WASCO regarding the potential impacts on spring and summer streamflow. 

Early March Climate Outlook

Key Messages:

In the short term, cooler and wetter than normal conditions look likely for the next week or two. 

Predictability is low for the March 1-month outlook as well as the 3-month March-May outlook.  

February 2026 Snowpack and Drought Summary

Key Messages: 

As of March 3, our statewide snowpack is well below normal at just 53% of the median. Many individual stations are below 10th percentile snowpack for this point in the season.