Wildfire concerns loom with dry weather outlook in Washington by Callie Craighead, SeattlePI
Western Washington is starting off wildfire season on the wrong foot with dry spring conditions fanning the flames of what could another destructive season.
While the Puget Sound region experienced patches of rain last weekend, the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) noted that it was not enough to erase months of deficits, and drought conditions are expected to persist in Washington. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Seattle, this April has been 7th warmest on record, preceded by the 11th driest March.
Much of Western Washington is currently classified by the United States Drought Monitor as being abnormally dry.
Since the center was founded 25 years ago, the USDA has provided funding and support on research and projects that have led to deeper understandings of how droughts behave, how Americans can better prepare for them, how they can best recover from them and more.
Under the new agreement, the drought center will continue to take a leading role in the production, web hosting and distribution of the U.S. Drought Monitor. The monitor available at https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu is a weekly synopsis of drought conditions across the U.S. and its territories produced jointly by the drought center, USDA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Produced each week by authors who examine more than 50 data sources and compare them with on-the-ground sources, the Drought Monitor has triggered billions of dollars in federal aid and low-interest loans, including for the USDA Livestock Forage Disaster Program. Federal, state, tribal, local and basin-level decision makers use
National Drought Mitigation Center enters into three-year USDA agreement krvn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from krvn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.