Drought has been declared in Deschutes and Grant counties. Find out more here.

By: Hailey Dunn of KOIN

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Gov. Tina Kotek declared a drought emergency in both Grant and Deschutes counties on Friday.

Kotek issued an executive order that directs state agencies to prioritize resources and access drought-related emergency tools for the impacted areas.

The two counties are experiencing extreme drought conditions as the average precipitation recorded in the area has been well below average, Kotek said. Similarly, the counties’ streamflows are reported to be below average with Deschutes recording 78% and Grant 44% of its average streamflow.

Additionally, Kotek said in a…

Central Oregon’s drought conditions remain the worst on record. Learn more here.

By Rachel Ramirez, CNN

Cate Casad started noticing the for-sale signs pop up over the last year on farms around Central Oregon, which has been mired in water shortages amid a yearslong megadrought.

Casad and her husband, Chris, are first-generation farmers and ranchers who started off with just a few acres of land east of Bend, then moved north in 2017 to scale up their farm. Now, the couple manages around 360 acres of farmland in Jefferson County, where they grow organic food and raise cattle, heritage breed hogs…

Low-elevation snow arrived in western Oregon mostly as expected Tuesday morning, bringing a dusting to a half inch of snow in Salem, Eugene and other Mid-Willamette Valley cities while dropping considerably more in the foothills and mountains.

Most roads remained warm enough to avoid sticking snow and traffic is largely not impacted in the Portland, Salem and Eugene corridor on Interstate 5. South Salem gained about a half-inch of snow and there is some roadside snow along I-5.

Wet flurries are forecast in the higher elevations of Willamette Valley cities and the foothills until about 10…

The current warming trend hasn’t yet spurred any major growth of the Cedar Creek Fire. Learn more here.

OAKRIDGE, Ore. (KTVZ) — So far, a warming and drying trend has not made for any major growth of the Cedar Creek Fire, which has topped 114,000 acres but has reached 20% containment, officials said Sunday.

Here’s Sunday’s update:

Cedar Creek Fire
September 25, 2022
Daily Update at 8:30 AM

Cedar Creek Fire Quick Facts

Size: 114,104 acres

Contained: 20%

Start Date: August 1, 2022

Origin: 15 miles east of Oakridge, Oregon

Cause: Lightning

Total personnel: 1,817

Resources: 44 engines, 28 crews, 68 heavy equipment, 9 helicopters

West Zone Operations: Overnight, the ridgelines and higher elevations areas (above 4,000 ft) experienced lower humidity and…

The Cedar Creek Fire will create lots of smoke for Central Oregon. Learn more here.

The Cedar Creek Fire burning on the Willamette National Forest grew to 18,143 acres Tuesday and a Red Flag Warning could cause it to grow.

People in Central Oregon should expect a lot more smoke in the next couple of days. It could reach “unhealthy for sensitive groups” level.

“The elderly or pretty much just anyone who has trouble breathing, even younger folks. Those are the people we include in the ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups,’” said Dan Byrd, an air resource adviser working on the Cedar Creek Fire.

Central Oregon Fire Info says a Red Flag Warning has been issued for hot, dry…

Detroit Lake has hit full capacity for the first time in two years. Discover more here.

DETROIT, Ore — It has been extremely challenging the last couple of years for residents of Detroit, Oregon. Wildfires destroyed the small town over Labor Day Weekend of 2020, and businesses who rely on the lake have been struggling because of low water levels the last two years.

The good news is that with the unofficial start to Memorial Day weekend just days away, Detroit Lake is the fullest it’s been in two years.

Lucas Lunski is the marina manager at Detroit Lake Marina. He’s been open for the last two weeks, and he said that they have been busy…

The region is technically still in drought, even with this rare April snow. Learn more here.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Climatologists say rare April snow, along with rain sweeping across the Pacific Northwest this week could increase water supplies, slow snowmelt and lengthen the irrigation season.

Impacts, however, will vary by region, and experts predict drought conditions will persist, the Capital Press reported.

Washington state climatologist Nick Bond said irrigators will benefit from April storms, but it won’t be enough to end the eastern Washington drought.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in eastern Washington it would take 159% to 368% of normal precipitation levels over the next two months to end the…

The chance of measurable snow on the floor of the Willamette Valley goes down considerably by April. Snow in the hills? Sure. But it is “very rare” for snow to fall down to the valley floor, as it did April 11, 2022, the National Weather Service said.

In much of the Portland/Vancouver metro area, this is the latest measurable snow in the spring. Here is the record report from the Portland weather service office for Monday’s snow:

For PORTLAND AIRPORT (1941-2022), this snow was…

** Most ever in the month of April,…

Studies show we are in the worst drought in 1,200 years. Learn more here.

By Nathan Rott, NPR

Shrunk reservoirs. Depleted aquifers. Low rivers. Raging wildfires. It’s no secret that the Western U.S. is in a severe drought. New research published Monday shows just how extreme the situation has become.

The Western U.S. and northern Mexico are experiencing their driest period in at least 1,200 years, according to the new study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change. The last comparable — though not as severe — multidecade megadrought occurred in the 1500s, when the West was still largely inhabited by Native American tribes.

Today, the region is home to tens of millions of people, massive agricultural…