Once in a while it’s nice to check in and see how we’re doing drought-wise. The lack of snowfall this past winter is fresh on our minds, and the question is how things have looked since then. The good news is that with some of the more showery days we’ve had over the past month we’re not in too much of a hole right now. Most deficits to this point sit at a few tenths of an inch of rain.
The biggest areas of drought have actually been to the northeast of the Silver Sate in places such as Elko. Thankfully for Reno right now we are just dealing with dry and not drought conditions. The biggest problem areas to this point in June are in northern Washoe County and to the northeast towards Lovelock and Winnemucca. Keep in mind that the areas most affected by drought conditions will be agricultural areas such as in the Lahontan and Carson Valleys.
The bad news is that over the net week, we will see high pressure build and not relent through this weekend. Highs will climb into the mid 90s by Friday and stay there through the start of next week. The high pressure will obviously keep showers away, and there’s no chance for rain in the Great Basin beyond Monday. The latest Climate Prediction Center rainfall outlook over the next 8 to 14 days does show that we’ll be around normal for mid to late June. Unlike other locations we generally don’t need as much rain to stay out of the drought so a quick system or two in the coming weeks would be enough to keep us from slipping further into a dry spell at least in the western part of the state. More help will be needed to break even out east. Fingers crossed!