Drought Worries Intensify
That follows a warning from University of Washington scientists that the local climate may be changing.
Their studies show Washington faces the fourth drought year in the past six years and the snowpack is now so slight this could be the most serious drought since 1992.
The snowpack this year ranges from about 20 percent of normal to 70 percent.
Scott Pattee of the USDA Natural Resources division says, "We're blowing 2001 (the last significant drought year) out of the water, sorry for the pun, we're blowing it away this year. And it looks like it's gonna get worse."
It's so bad King County may stop washing its cars and they'd just as soon you didn't wash yours.
The only hint of good news, there's snow in Idaho and the Columbia River may have enough flow for power and for fish.
But other rivers have problems.
The Nisqually at the Lewis Pierce County line is suffering from not enough rain and not enough runoff from Mount Rainier.
At nearby Alder Lake a sign warns of floating debris and advises merrymakers to watch out for boats. Not now. It's a sea of mud.
"We're in hurt. We're in a world of hurt," worries park campground host, Jerry West. Asked what it would take to make the park area usable, West says, "Rain, lots of rain and some snow."
He doesn't expect that to happen. Neither does UW Climatologist Dr. Phil Mote.
"It would take a miracle to get enough snowfall to bring this year up to 50% of average," he says. "The weather this summer could make a difference in how we can stretch how much water we have."
The biggest concern is the other side of the mountains. The potential for forest fires is high. And farmers worry about their crops.