CORVALLIS, OR -- Almost half of the Pacific Northwest is still experiencing at least moderate drought, despite fall rains. State Climatologist Larry O’Neill says Oregon received above average precipitation over the last 90 days. But it’s not enough, "While this rain is really welcome, this time of year is typically the driest, climatologically speaking, through the water year. So this precipitation really does not go very far to mitigate the long-term drought conditions that we’re experiencing in the Pacific Northwest." 

He says there’s a dividing line that runs from Medford to Montana (pictured). South of that line has seen significant drought recovery this year. But north of what's been dubbed the "Medford-Missoula Line" is going backwards. That includes Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties, which remain in moderate to severe drought, according to the US Drought Monitor. "We’ve had large regions that have had less than 70% of their average precipitation since January first of this year," says O'Neill, "And this is really one of the main drivers of the drought severity that we’re seeing, at this point." He adds, "In western Oregon, we’ve had some areas that are less than 70% of average, but most of the region has been definitely less than 90% of average. So, even though we had that great snowpack, we haven’t had very much water with the total precipitation, throughout that."

In June, July and August, Oregon temperatures averaged 3.3 degrees higher than a typical summer. Eugene saw 104 days over 80 degrees, shattering that city’s previous record. O'Neill says, "We didn’t have the really big, high-level heatwave events, like we had in 2021. But, it was just persistently warmer than normal, and this has really driven enhanced backward demand off the landscape throughout the summer. So, the precipitation we did get is not going as far to meet our water supply needs."