Drought Information Statement for Eastern Washington & North Idaho
Valid February 27, 2026
Issued By: NWS Spokane, WA 
Contact Information: w-otx.webmaster@noaa.gov
This will be updated late April 2026 or sooner if drought conditions change significantly.   
Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements.
Please visit https://www.weather.gov/otx/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. 
Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates for regional drought status updates.


Drought conditions persist across the Inland Northwest:
Despite winter precipitation, drought improvements are modest over the past two months due to warmer conditions and a lack of mid-level
snowpack accumulation.
Severe drought conditions continue to be observed in southeastern Washington and the southern Idaho Panhandle.

U.S. Drought Monitor:
Drought intensity and Extent
D4 (Exceptional Drought): 0%.
D3 (Extreme Drought): 0%.
D2 (Severe Drought): 12% S Idaho Panhandle and SE Washington.
D1 (Moderate Drought): 33% Central Panhandle mountains, Washington Palouse, Okanogan highlands, and Kettle range.
D0: (Abnormally Dry): 52% most of the inland northwest not in another category.
No drought: 3% near the north Cascade crest.

Recent Change in Drought Intensity:
Four Week Drought Monitor Class Change:
Drought Worsened: Shoshone, Kootenai, Benewah County.
No Change: No change in the rest of the Spokane Forecast Area.

Precipitation:
Last 30 days has been drier than normal especially in the mountainous regions of the Spokane forecast area. North Cascades are seeing the greatest deficits below 25% of normal.

Temperature:
Over the last week temperatures have been below normal especially in central WA. In the last 30 days temperatures are near normal to slightly above normal trending west to east.

Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts:
Streamflows over the past 7 days have been near normal for much of eastern WA and north Idaho. Streamflows in southeast Washington have been below normal as extreme drought persists. 
Streamflows in the Cascades have been above normal thanks to 5-15 inches of precipitation in the past month. 


Summary of Impacts:
Hydrologic Impacts:
Water supply outlook remains below normal eastern Washington and north Idaho (NWS NWRFC).
Water supply outlook is more optimistic on the east side of the North Cascades and the Columbia
River.
Agricultural Impacts:
There are no known impacts at this time.
Other Impacts:
With one to two months left of the typical accumulation season, the snow deficit could play a major
role in deteriorating water supply conditions over the summer if trends continue.
Mitigation Actions:
Please refer to your municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information.

Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts:
Snow Water Equivalent is below normal across the region. High elevations are closer to normal above 5000 feet compared to lower elevations.

March Outlook: For March there is a 40 to 50 percent chance of above normal precipitation. The temperature outlook for March is near normal to slightly below
normal.

Drought Outlook:
There is some optimism of improvement if the next months precipitation and temperature outlooks verify.