Eastern, Central Washington drought declaration lifted

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state Department of Ecology has canceled the drought declaration for Central and Eastern Washington because of unanticipated cool, wet weather in May and June.

Water supply conditions have been much better than expected and as a result no part of the state is experiencing drought conditions, Ecology officials said Tuesday in a statement.

Washington had the second-wettest May through June since 1895, officials said.

That has preserved snowpack which will support late-summer water supply needs, according to Jeff Marti, Ecology’s statewide drought coordinator.

“All areas of the state, including the five watersheds specified in the drought declaration, have received significantly above-normal precipitation,” Marti said. “The outlook is much better than forecast back in May.”

This year’s conditions are in stark contrast with spring 2021, which was the second-driest on record. An unprecedented deadly late-June heat wave in the Pacific Northwest then broke temperature records across the state.

In response, Ecology issued an emergency drought declaration in July 2021 covering 96% of the state.