Despite this week鈥檚 heavy rainfall, most of Oregon is still in an ongoing drought with Central Oregon facing the most severe conditions in the state.
Climate experts from Oregon, Washington and Idaho shared an update on Thursday that shows with 18% of the region experiencing exceptional drought. They predict the drought conditions this summer will be even worse than they were the last two years, in which the Northwest saw .
Central Oregon could see its wildfire season start as early as May, they said, with water shortages that could impact farmers, crops and livestock.
In Oregon, at least 10 counties, from Sherman County down to Klamath County, are seeing exceptional drought conditions, which are creating and water shortages in reservoirs and streams. Although the recent across much of the region, the longer stretches with no rain have made drought conditions worse.
鈥淢any of those areas impacted most by drought would need 150 to 200% or more of normal precipitation over the next two months to ameliorate drought conditions,鈥� NOAA National Integrated Drought Information System Britt Parker said.
The likelihood of that happening is very low.
Oregon State University climatologist Larry O鈥橬eill said the , and each consecutive year the impacts have been greater. From October 2019 through September 2021, O鈥橬eill said Oregon has experienced its third driest period on record going back to 1895.
Southern and Central Oregon have borne the brunt of the drought, O鈥橬eill said, with at least seven counties seeing the lowest rainfall on record.
鈥淭his year, we鈥檙e actually starting off drier than we did at this point last year, and so right now we鈥檙e very worried about this region in Oregon,鈥� he said.
. O鈥橬eill said nearly all reservoirs in the state are 10% to 30% lower than they were around this time last year. This could have impacts on how much water landowners are allowed to use for irrigation, which could hurt farmers and ranchers.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going into some tough times in Oregon for this summer,鈥� O鈥橬eill said.
The drier than normal spring also means high wildfire risk in Central Oregon.
According to the National Interagency Coordination Center, which predicts which areas are facing the highest risk of wildfires, Central Oregon will have.
Eric Wise with the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center said the extremely dry conditions are worrisome because they could mean an early start to another very active fire season.
鈥淲e are concerned that things will get started early again this year and then just persist,鈥� he said.
Across the West, a 22-year megadrought has brought the region to the driest conditions it鈥檚 seen in at least 1,200 years, and concluded 42% of the extensive drought conditions can be attributed to human-caused climate change.
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