Report: Drought conditions improving slightly

SPOKANE — The National Weather Service released a report in December breaking down the moisture and drought information for the Inland Northwest.

Drought conditions have shown small improvements throughout the month of December across the Inland Northwest especially in southeast Washington and the southern Idaho Panhandle, according to the report.

The improvements were reported because the areas in the state that were experiencing exceptional and extreme drought have seen improvement.

The improvements came about because of a wet fall and winter – there has been a much larger amount of rain fall, the report said.

Drought levels are measured through soil moisture levels and stream and river flows that have both seen increases in the month of December.

Stream flows throughout the Inland Northwest have seen improvements since record lows this last summer.

North Central Washington is experiencing above normal flows while parts of the Columbia Basin, Palouse, Spokane, and the lower Snake River basins are all still experiencing lower-than-normal stream flows, the report shows.

While rain levels have been high, the snowpack has been slow to grow even after some early snows in October.

The snowfall is a fair amount for the last half of December, which could have impacted the snowpack levels going into 2022.

It improves the outcome for the Inland Northwest’s water supply, the report said.

Residents can expect colder-than-normal temperatures going into next year and the high levels of precipitation to continue going into the new year.