Drought Information Statement for Eastern Washington & North Idaho Valid July 10, 2025 Issued By: NWS Spokane, WA Contact Information: w-otx.webmaster@noaa.gov This will be updated when 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. STATE OF WASHINGTON DROUGHT EMERGENCY FOR PARTS OF CENTRAL WASHINGTON (see link) Drought persists and has expanded across the Inland Northwest Extreme drought developed in ID Panhandle Severe drought expanded in north WA and ID Panhandle Updated 1 U.S. Drought Monitor U.S. Drought Monitor for eastern Washington and north Idaho Drought intensity and Extent for the Inland NW D3 (Extreme Drought): Southern Idaho Panhandle ~7% D2 (Severe Drought): The northern Cascades through the northwest Oregon coast ~20% D1 (Moderate Drought): The Olympic Washington coast, most of eastern Washington and northern Idaho Panhandle ~44% D0: (Abnormally Dry): Southern Washington, far northwest Washington including the San Juan Islands ~ 30% NONE: ~0% Updated Geography Availability: United States WFO: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/png/current/current_wfoabq_text.png Where it says “wfoabq” change the last 3 letters to the desired CWA in terms of “wfoxxx” (excluding SJU, PPG, or GUM, only regional data available) State: Replace where it says “wfoabq” change to the state’s abbreviation Regional: Replace where it says “wfoabq” change to either of the following… Caribbean → current_caribbean_text Pacific Islands→current_usapi_text Ex; southeast → current_southeast_text Ex; midwest → current_midwest_text Ex; high plains → current_high_planes_text Ex; south → current_south_text pdf National (including HI, AK, and PR): https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/png/20220823/20220823_usdm.png USAPI and Virgin Islands: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/png/20220823/20220823_usdm_pg2.png Recent Change in Drought Intensity 1 week change map for eastern Washington and north Idaho One Week Drought Monitor Class Change No Change: much of central WA and north Idaho Abnormally dry → Moderate drought: north and south-central Washington Severe drought → Extreme drought: southern Idaho Panhandle updated Last 30 Days Precipitation Precipitation over the last 30 days has been below normal across the Inland NW and especially dry across the central WA, southeast WA and southern ID Panhandle. updated If longer-term drought is dominating in your region, you can use longer-timescale imagery to support that message. All data can be found at https://hprcc.unl.edu/maps.php?maps=ACISClimateMaps If you prefer a higher resolution precip source such as AHPS (https://water.weather.gov/precip/), that’s also okay but will have to be added manually each time. If little to no imagery is available for your area (i.e. USAPI) you may consider a data table. Some USAPI precipitation imagery available here:https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/drought/202303#regional-usapi and here: https://niwa.co.nz/climate/island-climate-update Pacific Island Climate Update for ENSO: Monthly Reports, find the PDF on this site: https://niwa.co.nz/climate/island-climate-update and consider linking to it here if it’s not too out of date MSWEP: https://www.gloh2o.org/mswep/ may be another option. Other options: Precipitation Station Data from USGS: Stations in each State: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/al/nwis/current/?type=precip&group_key=NONE To change state, alter link where it says “/al/” and change to desired state’s abbreviation. Homepage: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis Precipitation Reports for Basins from WCC Availability: SNOTEL and COOP stations for each state in the west including Alaska. State: https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/support/water/SummaryReports/AZ/BPrecip_8_2022.pdf Where it says “AZ” change to desired state abbreviation to other states such as AK, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, and WY. Replace where it says “Precip_8_2022” and change the “8” to the desired month of year and “2022” to the year wanted. Homepage: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/snowClimateMonitoring/snowpack/basinDataReports/ Last 90 Days Precipitation Precipitation over the last 90 days has been largely below normal. Long term dryness remains across central WA, higher elevations of the Idaho Panhandle, and southeast WA. Updated If longer-term drought is dominating in your region, you can use longer-timescale imagery to support that message. All data can be found at https://hprcc.unl.edu/maps.php?maps=ACISClimateMaps If you prefer a higher resolution precip source such as AHPS (https://water.weather.gov/precip/), that’s also okay but will have to be added manually each time. If little to no imagery is available for your area (i.e. USAPI) you may consider a data table. Some USAPI precipitation imagery available here:https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/drought/202303#regional-usapi and here: https://niwa.co.nz/climate/island-climate-update Pacific Island Climate Update for ENSO: Monthly Reports, find the PDF on this site: https://niwa.co.nz/climate/island-climate-update and consider linking to it here if it’s not too out of date MSWEP: https://www.gloh2o.org/mswep/ may be another option. Other options: Precipitation Station Data from USGS: Stations in each State: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/al/nwis/current/?type=precip&group_key=NONE To change state, alter link where it says “/al/” and change to desired state’s abbreviation. Homepage: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis Precipitation Reports for Basins from WCC Availability: SNOTEL and COOP stations for each state in the west including Alaska. State: https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/support/water/SummaryReports/AZ/BPrecip_8_2022.pdf Where it says “AZ” change to desired state abbreviation to other states such as AK, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, and WY. Replace where it says “Precip_8_2022” and change the “8” to the desired month of year and “2022” to the year wanted. Homepage: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/snowClimateMonitoring/snowpack/basinDataReports/ Last 7 Days and 30 Days Temperature Temperatures the last week and last 30 days have been warmer than normal across the entire inland northwest, most notably in the higher elevations of northern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle. Updated Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter Hydrologic Impacts Water supply outlook remains below normal. (NWS NWRFC) Stream flows remain much below normal across the region as runoff from mountain snow has slowed. (NWS NWRFC) Agricultural Impacts Soil moisture is moderately to severely dry and harvesting is earlier than normal across Washington. Crop conditions are fair and poor (62%). USDA Crop Progress Reports Fire Hazard Impacts Fine fuels continue to cure and are well below normal (dry) at this time. The significant wildland fire potential continues highlighting above normal risk for the Inland Northwest through September. (NIFC) Other Impacts Washington State Declared Drought Emergency for Chelan, Okanogan, and portions of Ferry County in June. Mitigation Actions Please refer to your local municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information. Updated Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Streamflows over the past 7 days have been below normal across the Palouse region, northern mountains, and the central ID Panhandle. It has been a dry and warm period, and mountain snowpack runoff has slowed. Image Caption: USGS 7 day average streamflow HUC map valid April 29, 2025 Image Caption: USGS 7 day average streamflow HUC map valid July 9, 2025 updated Agricultural Conditions and Impacts Soil moisture remains drier than normal across much of the Inland NW, especially over the Cascades and the ID Panhandle. updated Fire Hazard Impacts Fine fuels continue to cure and are well below normal (very dry) at this time. The significant wildland fire potential continues highlighting above normal risk for the Inland Northwest through September. Link to Wildfire Potential Outlooks from the National Interagency Coordination Center. updated Seven Day Precipitation Forecast Here is a forecast of precipitation for the Pacific NW for the next week. The 8-14 day outlook favors 50-60% of above normal temperatures. 33-40% of near to above normal precipitation. Updated Seasonal Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage July, August, and September: Outlook favors warmer than normal temperatures and below average precipitation across the Inland NW. Updated Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage The Monthly and Seasonal Drought Outlook shows where existing drought will likely persist or worsen across a majority of Washington and Idaho. updated