April 16, 2026 8:05 am
Clark County, Environment, Government, News 
Students walk to classes Wednesday at Washington State University Vancouver, which enjoys a view of Mount St. Helens. The region is at 49 percent of average snowpack. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)
The top of Mount St. Helens is visible from Washington State University Vancouver on Wednesday morning. State officials have declared a statewide drought emergency due to low snowpack. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)
A hazy view of Mount Hood is barely visible from Washington State University Vancouver on Wednesday morning. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)
A student walks to class Wednesday at Washington State University Vancouver, which enjoys a view of Mount St. Helens. The Lower Columbia region is at 49 percent of average snowpack. (Photos by Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)
Mount Hood is visible along state Highway 14 on Wednesday afternoon. A state climatologist said this year’s snowpack levels are the third lowest since records began in 1985.
Abnormally low snowpack levels this winter led state officials to declare a statewide drought emergency Wednesday.
This is the fourth consecutive year that snowpack levels fell below the drought threshold, Casey Sixkiller, director of Washington’s Department of Ecology, said during a Wednesday morning press conference.
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