Apr-Jul 4th-Driest For Oregon Since Records Began In 1895; More Than Half Of PNW In Level 2 Or 3 Drought

Nearly 80% of the Northwest is in a drought this summer, with more than half in a severe or extreme drought, according to a July analysis and September data from the U.S. Drought Monitor at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

That’s due in large part to a lack of spring rain. Between April and August, Oregon had its fourth-driest period since record keeping began in 1895, according to Larry O’Neill, Oregon’s state climatologist and an associate professor at Oregon State University’s College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. “We got about half of our usual precipitation during that time,” he said.

Despite a wet winter and solid snowpack filling water reservoirs, “spring precipitation is quite important for a lot of the state, and especially for wildfire danger and for agricultural livestock production,” O’Neill said. For most of Oregon and the Northwest, the spring and summer drought are characterized as short-term, but for some parts of the state, such as in Wallowa, Umatilla and parts of Baker counties, drought has been ongoing for more than a year.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has since July declared a drought emergency in Union and Baker counties, as well as Coos, Douglas, Lincoln, Morrow and Wheeler counties. Such declarations allow the state’s Office of Emergency Management and the Agriculture and Water Resources departments to assist the counties by expediting review processes and reducing fees for emergency permits to draw more water or temporarily transfer a water right.

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https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/09/10/more-than-half-of-northwest-in-severe-extreme-drought-oregon-in-historic-dry-period/