Record Northwest drought feared

American Forests, Spring, 2005

Scientists in Washington state are warning that a warm winter and low snow-pack could result in the Northwest's worst drought since 1992. That year hundreds of thousands of acres in the West burned in wildfires and those in the Puget Sound area suffered through water rationing.

Philip Mote and Richard Palmer, members of the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, warn the dry weather may be part of a trend that will require some rethinking in the current management of natural resources. The UW consortium uses climate science tools to assess short-term weather and long-term climate change.