Nearly 80% of the Northwest is in a drought this summer, with more than half in a severe or extreme drought, according to a July analysis and September data from the U.S. Drought Monitor at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Between April and August, Oregon had its fourth-driest period since record keeping began in 1895, according to Larry O’Neill, Oregon’s state climatologist and an associate professor at Oregon State University’s College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. Tina Kotek has since July declared a drought emergency in Union and Baker counties, as well as Coos, Douglas, Lincoln, Morrow and Wheeler counties. In April, the Washington Department of Ecology issued a drought emergency for the Yakima Basin. By June 5, the department had issued a drought emergency for 19 watersheds covering much of the north and central parts of the state.