Washington drought set to worsen as heat wave, El Niño loom over Pacific Northwest

Washington drought set to worsen as heat wave, El Niño loom over Pacific Northwest

Federal forecasters are warning the Columbia River Basin in Washington and Oregon is the most likely spot in the West to see drought intensify over the next three months. “The deficits in places like Washington and Idaho and Oregon are still very significant,” Jason Gerlich, a Regional Drought Information Coordinator with the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), said on Wednesday. “It’s not gonna take just one prolonged rain e…