PROJECT ALERT NOTICE (OR) Drought Oregon

Date: Tue, 08 Sep 2020 22:53:02 EDT

Summary: More than 2/3 of Oregon is experiencing severe to extreme drought conditions during the last 30 days.

Drought conditions are more pronounced in Western Oregon. 35 gages in the state are currently below normal for the 28-day average streamflow. 8 streamflow gages in NW Oregon are at or near record lows. The current forecast maintains dry conditions for at least 6 days with some moisture 7-8 days out. Air temperatures in the state will start to return to a more normal range next week.

Field staff from Portland and Central Point offices continue to complete discharge measurements to validate stage-discharge relations. Several non-routine measurements were made last week at streamflow sites to confirm trends. For example, 14312100 which is in the 4th percentile and 14377100 is close to the low of record. A low flow measurement is planned to capture a portion of the tide cycle to validate the lower portion of the Index rating at the Willamette Portland gage.

Some measurements this week have been postponed due to wildfire activity. Wildfire impacts from today’s fires on USGS gages have not been determined yet. A good portion of the state is currently in Red Flag warning (extreme fire danger).

For low flow and drought determination, ORWSC staff continues to work with State and Federal Partners through the Water Supply Availability Committee