Three Washington Counties Declared Disasters

The USDA has designated three Washington counties as primary natural disaster areas.  According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Asotin, Garfield, and Whitman Counties are now considered to be in a state of Extreme Drought, or D-3.  The designation by the USDA makes farmers in primary and neighboring counties eligible to apply for FSA emergency loan assistance.

A federal drought designation occurs when a county experiences a drought level during the growing season of D-3 Extreme Drought or D-4 Exceptional Drought, or a D-2 Severe Drought designation for eight or more consecutive weeks.  Currently no other part of Washington is under a D-3 designation.

2025 Has Been A Dry Year East Of The Cascades

Eastern Washington has been hit especially hard by drought this summer.  Franklin County and Grant County received no precipitation at all in June, making this the driest June on record for those counties.  Adams County experienced its driest June on record with only .01" of rain.  The wettest county in eastern Washington was Pend Oreille, which experienced its fourth driest June on record with 0.8" of rain.  Spokane, Garfield, Walla Walla, and Whitman Counties also experienced their driest Junes on record, each with less than one .25" of rain.

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