Washington summer storms help firefighters, drought deepens

U.S. Drought Monitor Conditions: Pacific Northwest | August 27, 2024. Red indicates Extreme Drought (red) and Severe Drought (orange) in central Washington, with Moderate Drought (tan) and Abnormally Dry (yellow) conditions across the rest of the sta

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Current drought conditions

SEATTLE - Drought conditions in central Washington have degraded slightly despite stretches of cooler and wetter weather conditions this summer.

After rare thunderstorms brought lightning and heavy rain to the greater Seattle area, firefighters reported progress in battling wildfires across the region.

On Monday, the remote Washington town of Stehekin reopened to visitors as firefighting crews were able to step up Pioneer Fire containment, thanks to weekend rainfall.

Central Washington remains in extreme drought, while nearly the rest of the state remains in moderate drought or "abnormally dry" classifications, according to a new report from the Climate Prediction Center.

Drought intensified across central Washington, central Idaho, and southeastern Oregon, with one- to two-class degradations. Drought conditions across other parts of the region did not change from mid-July into late August. (Source: National Drought

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"Mid-August storms and cooler weather brought a brief reprieve to drought and wildfire conditions for some areas of the Pacific Northwest, but did not end either," said officials at the National Integrated Drought Information System.

Washington drought outlook

There is good news on the horizon, for Washington at least. Scientists mapped out a three-month seasonal outlook for drought conditions. According to their models, Washington is predicted to improve (indicated by green shading in the below graphic) in nearly every region.

However, drought conditions are predicted to persist (indicated by brown shading in the below graphic) in Idaho, Montana, and southern Oregon.

3-month seasonal drought outlook for August 15-November 30, 2024. (Courtesy of Climate Prediction Center)

Precipitation and water reservoirs

Across the water year as a whole, precipitation has been classified as "much-below-average" with "much-above-normal" temperatures.

This results in three of the five water reservoirs under their observation sitting at capacities well below 50%. Cle ELum reservoir is only at 8% of its potential capacity, according to the report.

Wildfire outlook across Pacific Northwest

Right now, nearly all of the Pacific Northwest is predicted to have above-normal chances for wildfires in September 2024. Western Oregon and northern Idaho are exceptions, with the National Interagency Coordination Center showing the areas remaining at normal risk for wildland fires.

U.S. significant wildfire potential outlook for September 2024, released on August 1, 2024. Colors indicate above-normal potential (red), below-normal potential (green), and normal potential (white). Source: National Interagency Coordination Center.