Northwest Soils Continue To Dry Out In Final Weeks Of Summer

The month of August was a difficult one for soil moisture readings across Washington, Oregon and Idaho. According to the latest drought numbers, 25% of Washington is under a D-2, or Severe Drought designation, while 4% is under a D-3 or Extreme Drought.

In Oregon, nearly 30% is classified as Extreme Drought, while 4% is under a D-4, or Exceptional Drought.

For Idaho, nearly 40% of the Gem State is under the Extreme Drought designation and nearly 8% is considered an Exceptional Drought.

USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey noted the high-end drought numbers, the D3s and D4s, expanded considerably nationwide over the past month.

"We had a recent low of about 9.5% of the country covered by extreme or exceptional drought, and that was back on August 4th," Rippey said. "Flash forward four weeks later to September 1st, and coverage of extreme to exceptional drought is up to 11.4%. So, we've seen an almost two percentage point increase in those high-end drought coverage levels in the last four weeks.”

Rippey noted there were a few locations, the Southwest and the western Central Plains, that reported improved drought numbers thanks to monsoon rains.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-9791, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com