Washington, 2005

Drought in Washington, March 10 to 30, 2005

March 10 to 30, 2005 · NWS SEW · 19 events in 18 counties and zones

The governor declared a drought after a fall and winter of much below normal precipitation. 84 inches below normal since Oct 1st.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$12 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
19

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS SEW wrote it up.

The governor declared a drought after a fall and winter of much below normal precipitation. As of March 15th, Olympia was -15.84 inches below normal since Oct 1st. The White, Green and Puyallup rivers, together, are at 25 percent of normal. In the Cedar, Snoqualmie, Tolt, and Skykomish basins, the water in the snowpack varies from 0 to 36% of normal. The 12 million in damages is the amount the governor seeks for drought relief.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Seattle, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 10, 9:00 AM PST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 10, 9:00 AM PST, 1 hour before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
900 AM PST THU MAR 10 2005

.SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE AND OFFSHORE SURFACE FLOW WILL
PROVIDE ANOTHER DAY OF SUNSHINE. THE REMAINS OF A WEAK FRONT WILL
BRING PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT. THE UPPER RIDGE
WILL REBUILD QUICKLY OVER THE WEEKEND THOUGH...AND DRY WEATHER WILL
LIKELY CONTINUE WELL INTO NEXT WEEK.
&&

.DISCUSSION...AREAS OF FOG AROUND NOW STARTING TO BURN OFF. TEMPS
ARE SEVERAL DEGREES BELOW YESTERDAY AND THOUGH THEY WILL RECOVER
SOON...MIGHT BE TOUGH TO REACH RECORDS TODAY. SEATTLE RECORD IS 68
AND OLYMPIA IS 73. STILL WILL BE A WARM SUNNY DAY.

LATEST GFS HAS CLOUDS BUT NO RAIN OVER NW WA ON FRI. THIS LOOKS
GOOD. THEN PATTERN OF WEAK SURFACE FLOW AND COOL DRY NORTHERLY FLOW
ALOFT HOLDS THROUGH NEXT WEDNESDAY. BURKE
&&

.AVIATION...SUNNY AFTER AREAS OF MORNING FOG THRU FRI. NOW THAT FOG
IS IN THE OBS AVN MOS SEEMS TO HAVE PICKED IT UP. NGM MOS SHOWED
SOME FOG IN YESTERDAYS GUIDANCE AND WORSE VIS FRI. CONDITIONS WILL
PROBABLY BE ABOUT THE SAME FRI...AIR MASS WONT BE MUCH DIFFERENT. &&

.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
    .SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY COAST FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS.

.KATX...VCP32/CSR32 OPERATIONAL.
&&

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

19 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Central Cascade Foothills

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Central Cascade Foothills forecast zone
Property damage
$12 million
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, Northern Cascade Foothills

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Northern Cascade Foothills forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, West Slopes Northern Cascades and Passes

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
West Slopes Northern Cascades and Passes forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, West Slopes Central Cascades and Passes

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
West Slopes Central Cascades and Passes forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, Southwest Interior

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Southwest Interior forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, Admiralty Inlet Area

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Admiralty Inlet Area forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, Hood Canal/Kitsap Peninsula

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Hood Canal/Kitsap Peninsula forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, Western Strait of Juan de Fuca

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Western Strait of Juan de Fuca forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, Olympics

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Olympics forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, San Juan

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
San Juan forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates
48.531, -123.025 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Everett and Vicinity

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Everett and Vicinity forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, Southwest Interior

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Southwest Interior forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, North Coast

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
North Coast forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, Central Coast

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Central Coast forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, Seattle Metropolitan Area

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Seattle Metropolitan Area forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, Tacoma Area

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Tacoma Area forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, Northwest Interior

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Northwest Interior forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

Drought, Western Whatcom

When
March 10, 10:00 AM PST to March 30, 10:00 AM PST
Where
Western Whatcom forecast zone
Reported by
GOVT OFFICIAL

What these are

Drought
A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Washington in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, March 2005

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5440004, 5440005, 5440006, 5440007, 5440008, 5440009, 5440010, 5440011, 5440012, 5440090, 5440091, 5440092, 5440093, 5440094, 5440095, 5440096, 5440097, 5440098, 5440099.