WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Officials tracking water supply in Washington state are reporting mixed findings in preliminary tracking this winter.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service says precipitation in the eastern and central Cascades were lower than expected, and snowpack was below normal.

Meanwhile the North Cascades saw similar to normal amounts of precipitation and snowpack levels for this time of year. Slight drought conditions are impacting areas east of the Cascades as of January 2025.

The outlook for the region is more positive than last year’s, when the USDA saw significantly lower snowpack levels throughout the state and called for a statewide drought emergency.