Pacific weather systems brought 2 or more inches of precipitation to the coastal ranges and windward portions of the Cascades in Oregon and Washington, with half an inch or more from northeast Oregon to northern Idaho and in eastern Montana. Less than half an inch fell in other parts of the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies. Little to no precipitation occurred across the southern states in the West region, from California to New Mexico. Weekly temperatures averaged cooler than normal except in the Four Corners states. The hot temperatures in New Mexico continued to increase evapotranspiration and dry soils. The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak fire exceeded 298,000 acres burned, becoming the largest wildfire in modern New Mexico history. Moderate to exceptional drought expanded in New Mexico; extreme drought expanded in Utah; moderate to extreme drought expanded in Arizona; and exceptional drought from Nevada crept southward into northwest Arizona. Further north, extreme drought was removed from Washington, while abnormal dryness and moderate to exceptional drought contracted in Oregon. The precipitation of recent months in the Pacific Northwest has helped refill some reservoirs, especially the smaller ones. But larger ones remain depleted, including Oregon’s Crescent Lake reservoir, which is 12% full, Prineville (32%), Phillips (13%), Warm Springs (18%), Owyhee (46%), Howard Prairie (16%), Emigrant (26%), and Hyatt (20%). According to USDA statistics, 89% of the topsoil moisture was short or very short in New Mexico, 47% in Utah, and 40% in Nevada, and 51% of the pasture and rangeland was in poor or very poor condition in New Mexico.

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