Mass on Drought Emergency Pt 2

From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. With winter’s snowstorms largely behind us and summer around the corner and our state’s lower than normal snowpack have spurred the Department of Ecology to declare a drought emergency for most of Washington.

However, University of Washington Atmospheric Sciences professor, Cliff Mass says sure there’s less snow in the mountains, but no shortage of water …

MASS-17 = 16 … “So, there’s plenty of water and I’ve looked at the forecast, and there’s going to be plenty of precipitation coming. I mean it’s not like all of the sudden summer drought is showing up. There’s going to be a lot more precipitation. So, they’re going to be able to top off all the reservoirs. Plenty of water for the urban areas. No problem there.”

That, Mass says is for West of the Cascades …

MASS-18 = 13 … “And even on the eastern side, the Yakima, which was low is coming up very quickly. And so that looks like it’s going to be in good shape too, the Yakima reservoir system. So, we’re in really good shape, water-wise.”

The west coast, Mass says isn’t hurting for water …

MASS-24 = 19 … “So, California is in tremendous shape. Oregon is in tremendous shape. You know, we’re okay, you know, it’s not like, we have enough that we’re going to be fine. So that’s, I mean, that’s the story here and next winter is not going to be like this one, that’s going to be almost assured. And that’s the situation.”

That, Mass says is due to our El Nino conditions fading and La Nina on the way.

To hear more from Cliff on weather issues, check out his blog at www.cliffmass.blogspot.com