Author: James Kraft, Executive Director
I had great hopes that our La Niña winter would be snowy and offer a break from three years of drought in Washington. Unfortunately, we may face another dangerously dry summer.
Our snowpack is way below normal. The snowpack is so low in most areas that we need record snowfall in March just to get to normal levels. As of mid-February, Washington’s statewide snowpack was the third lowest in the past 40 years—only 2005 and 2015 were worse.
Snow water equivalent in Washington basins compared to previous years as of Feb. 26, 2026. Source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
While we have had an almost normal amount of total precipitation, most of it fell in December as rain during the atmospheric river event. January was much drier and remained warm. In fact, October 2025 to January 2026 were the warmest first four months of the water year, which runs from October to September, since 1895!
Because many rivers rely on snowmelt for their summer flows and it has been so dry, drought conditions are likely to occur again. Another drought would cause low flows and endanger salmon and steelhead that need cool flowing water to survive.
This year may preview Washington’s water future. As climate change converts our annual snowfall to rain, we must secure new sources of water and find ways to store and use winter precipitation in the summer.
WWT Project Manager Hannah McDonough monitors flows in the Dungeness River during our collaborative drought response program in August 2024.
WWT is committed to building local climate resiliency. In the short term, our team is planning more drought response efforts in areas like the Dungeness to keep rivers flowing for fish. We also continue exploring alternative water sources like recycled water and storage methods like managed aquifer recharge that can help communities adapt for the future.
Your support makes our forward-looking river restoration efforts possible. We should hope for more snow in Washington but, sadly, we must also prepare for none.
