Northwest Soils Very Dry To Wrap Up March

Spring is only a week old, but we’re already talking about substantial drought numbers across the Pacific Northwest.

In Washington, 34.54% of the state is on par with soil-moisture levels for this time of year.  As of this week, 65.46% of the state is considered abnormally dry [D0] for this time of year.  37.11% of the state is under a Moderate Drought [D1] designation, while 2.27% is under a Severe Drought [D3] designation.

Oregon soils dried out substantially over the past week, with 84.75% of the state considered abnormally dry for late March.  Only 15.25 of the state is reporting average soil moisture numbers.  In addition, 49.11% of Oregon is under a Moderate Drought, while 20.21% is under the Severe Drought designation.

Idaho continues to report the driest soils in the region, with only 7.04% of the state on par for where they should be for this time of year.  As of this week, 92.96% of the Gem state is considered abnormally dry for late March.  63.52% is classified as a Moderate Drought, while 14.97% is under the Severe Drought designation.  On top of that, 1.9% of Idaho, all in Owyhee County is under a Extreme Drought [D3] designation.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com