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. 

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.