This part of Washington is now in severe drought. But it’s not where you might think

One of Washington’s rainiest areas is now in a severe drought, as classified by the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The area runs from the Willapa Bay watershed in southwestern Washington — which includes the cities of Raymond, South Bend and the Long Beach Peninsula — to Skamania County.

Severe drought is declared when conditions reach a level experienced only once every 10 to 20 years, according to the Drought Monitor.

Conditions in the rest of the state are classified as either in moderate drought or abnormally dry. The exception is the far southeastern corner of Washington, which is still normal.

Not surprisingly, rivers and streams are seeing far below normal flows in the Willapa basin, which is part of Pacific County. That area gets about 80 inches of rain annually — Tacoma gets about half that — so, it doesn’t take many dry days before the area can go into drought.

Stream and river flows are normal in Puget Sound. On the Olympic Peninsula, some communities are following voluntary or mandatory water conservation measures, according to the Washington Department of Ecology.

The drought began in May and it’s likely conditions will stay drier than normal until fall rains make an appearance, Ecology said.

This story was originally published July 27, 2018 at 5:53 PM.