Washington drought monitor
64% of Washington — about two thirds of the state — is in drought on this week's map , and 23% of it is in severe drought or worse .
From the U.S. Drought Monitor map for . A new one comes out every Thursday morning.
Where Washington stands
- Extreme drought under 1% of Washington
- Severe drought 22% of Washington
- Moderate drought 40% of Washington
- Abnormally dry 30% of Washington
- No drought 6% of Washington
The Drought Monitor shades land in five steps, from abnormally dry (D0) up to exceptional drought (D4). The worst class anywhere in Washington this week is extreme drought (D3).
How the year has run
- Aug 2025
- Dec 2025
- Apr 2026
- Aug 2026
Each column is one week, oldest on the left. The taller the color, the more of Washington was dry that week.
- Four weeks ago 64% of the state was in drought — about where it stands now.
- This week last year 96% of Washington was in drought, on the map for August 12, 2025.
- Worst week of the past year 100% in drought, on September 30, 2025.
What this means for burning in Washington
Drought is the reason most burn bans go up. Counties watch how dry the ground and the standing brush are, and a county commission can put a ban in place the week after the map turns — or leave one off while a neighboring county has one, because the call is theirs to make.
See Washington burn bans county by county — that page carries the status for all 39 of them, and says plainly when we're between checks.
A dry map is not a burn ban, and neither is this page. Rules change fast in dry weather — confirm with your county fire marshal or burn line before you light.
Washington drought county by county
30 of 39 counties have moderate drought or worse somewhere inside them. Driest first. County figures are from the map for .
| County | Worst drought class | Share of the county in drought |
|---|---|---|
| Okanogan County | Extreme drought | 100% |
| Adams County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Asotin County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Columbia County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Ferry County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Franklin County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Garfield County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Lincoln County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Pend Oreille County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Spokane County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Stevens County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Walla Walla County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Whitman County | Severe drought | 100% |
| Benton County | Severe drought | 89% |
| Chelan County | Severe drought | 87% |
| Douglas County | Moderate drought | 100% |
| Grant County | Moderate drought | 100% |
| Clallam County | Moderate drought | 97% |
| Kittitas County | Moderate drought | 81% |
| Kitsap County | Moderate drought | 79% |
| Yakima County | Moderate drought | 75% |
| Jefferson County | Moderate drought | 70% |
| Mason County | Moderate drought | 22% |
| Whatcom County | Moderate drought | 20% |
| Grays Harbor County | Moderate drought | 12% |
| Skagit County | Moderate drought | 9% |
| Snohomish County | Moderate drought | 3% |
| Lewis County | Moderate drought | 2% |
| Pierce County | Moderate drought | 2% |
| King County | Moderate drought | under 1% |
| Clark County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Cowlitz County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Island County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Klickitat County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| San Juan County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Skamania County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Thurston County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Wahkiakum County | Abnormally dry | 0% |
| Pacific County | No drought | 0% |
County links go to that county's burn ban status.
What the drought classes mean
- D4 · Exceptional drought
- Exceptional and widespread crop and pasture losses, with water emergencies in reservoirs, streams and wells.
- D3 · Extreme drought
- Major crop and pasture losses, and widespread water shortages or restrictions.
- D2 · Severe drought
- Crop and pasture losses likely, water shortages common, and water restrictions usually in force.
- D1 · Moderate drought
- Some damage to crops and pasture, streams and wells running low, and voluntary water-use cutbacks in some places.
- D0 · Abnormally dry
- Going into or coming out of drought — short-term dryness slowing planting or growth. Not drought yet, but the step before it.
The map comes from the U.S. Drought Monitor, put together each week by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with NOAA and the USDA. We read their state and county figures every week and show them here — the Monitor's own Washington map is the picture these numbers describe.