Region can expect some drought relief

By Terry Murry on Tuesday, October 11th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

PENDLETON – The dry, hot summer saw this region move up a notch on the drought meter to the ‘abnormally dry’ category. National Weather Service meteorologist Camden Plunkett said there is a strong chance that things will improve.

“The forecast is about 80 to 100 percent of normal for the Umatilla and Walla Walla basins,” he said. “Those stream flows are projected to be anywhere between 65 to 130 percent.”

The same is not true for other parts of Oregon. Central and southern Oregon are expected to remain in extreme or exceptional drought status through the rest of 2022.

“We are still in that extended drought down there,” Plunkett said. “The projection is 45 to 90 percent of normal.”