Drought advisory issued for Washington state as summer temps rise

Washington's Department of Ecology has issued a drought advisory for the entire state as the region experiences ongoing high temperatures, and very dry conditions.

A drought advisory is an informal "early warning," according to the department. It doesn't kick in any emergency actions. It does, however, give residents a heads-up about a potential drought ahead. Water conservation, and responsible use, is recommended.

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“Our warm weather arrived a few weeks early this year and really kicked the runoff into overdrive,” said Jeff Marti, water resources planner for the Department of Ecology. “Now, as we head into the hottest weeks of the summer, we want people to use water wisely and to be aware of our water supply situation."

Ecology says that large metropolitan areas, like Seattle and Tacoma, have a decent supply of water heading into the summer, "Thanks to robust storage facilities." Soil moisture isn't so good for agricultural areas, however.

The month of May tied 1958 as the warmest May on record for the region. Washington only got 47% of it's usual rain between April 25 and Jun 23.

During that time, the heat melted of a lot of snowpack in the mountains. That means, moving forward, stream flows are expected to be 75% of normal. That could potentially affect fish later in the summer.

In short, use water responsibly and conserve when you can.

El Niño and climate change are being blamed for hot temps across the globe.