"Mild Winter Yields Low Snowpack, Water Reserves"

"OLYMPIA – There’s a big downside to the relatively mild winter with more rain than snow that most of Washington experienced, and it’s not for skiers and snowboarders. Parts of the state have a snowpack drought.

Gov. Jay Inslee declared a drought emergency Friday for the Olympic Peninsula, much of the eastern slope of the Cascades and the Walla Walla region, triggering special authority for state agencies to address what they expect to be water shortages for agriculture, fish and some rural water systems. Most urban water systems are expected to have adequate drinking water, and the dams along the Columbia River should have plenty of water to turn the turbines and pump out electricity.

'We were hoping for a late-season snowstorm that would turn things around,” said Maia Bellon, director of the Ecology Department. It hasn’t happened yet, and the long-range forecast sees it as less and less likely. “Conditions are expected to get worse.'"

Jim Camden reports for the Spokane Spokesman-Review March 14, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"Washington State Rain No Cure for Drought, Due To Bleak Snowpack" (Los Angeles Times)

"Pacific Northwest Braces for Drought Because of Record-Low Snowpack" (ClimateWire)