Not good, but nowhere near the catastrophic California drought. Yet.
With only 16% of normal snowpack this year, half of Washington State is in drought condition; putting 1.2 bn of crops in jeopardy.
The Guardian
With more than two-thirds of Washington state experiencing abnormal dry conditions and more than half of the state experiencing moderate drought, Governor Jay Inslee on Friday declared a statewide drought emergency.
“We are really starting to feel the pain from this snowpack drought,” Inslee said. “Impacts are already severe in several areas of the state. Difficult decisions are being made about what crops get priority water and how best to save fish.”
Andrea Thompson at
Climate Central explains the difference between the dry California drought and the Washington state 'wet drought':
Unlike the intense drought that has plagued California, which is a factor of both heat and lack of precipitation, the drought across the Pacific Northwest is what has been called a “wet drought.” The region had plenty of storms blow across over the winter, but because of record warm temperatures, most precipitation fell as rain and not snow.
Clearly, warmer temperatures are a factor in the Western Drought. As climate warming advances changes will have to be made especially reconsideration of crop choices as I've written about
here,
here,
here and
here.