05/26/05 Drought conditions ease a bit

05/26/05 Drought conditions ease a bit

Wash Ag May 26, 2005 The National Weather Service says drought conditions in Washington have eased a bit and conditions might continue to improve this summer. Most of Eastern Washington now is considered to have moderate to severe drought conditions rather than "extreme" drought. The latest June through August outlook projects normal chances of rainfall, but above-average temperatures for Washington. The Department of Ecology says many streams continue to experience near record-low flows for this time of year. Short term improvements caused by passing storms help temporarily, but overall stream flows continue to drop to unusually low levels. Wheat growers have a name for the rains from those passing storms this time of year. Hennings: "As they always say around here, in late May and June, they call them million dollar rains. There were a bunch of those." That's farmer and Washington Wheat Commission chairman Curtis Hennings who says there could still be a pretty good wheat crop this year. Meanwhile, Washington's top drought committees will conduct a joint meeting in Wenatchee today to report on how the state is responding to drought. They will also hear from local officials and residents about how the drought is affecting the region and how the local community is responding. That meeting today is from two to four p.m. at the Coast Wenatchee Center Hotel. I'm Bob Hoff.
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