How dry is it in your area?

In the West, we're used to hot, dry weather in summer.

The high humidity of the last few days has been a topic of conversation for Westerners. By about 7 a.m. today, the humidity was already at 80 percent here on a day that is supposed to climb into the 80s in temperature.

Meanwhile, anyone from the MidWest or southern part of the country just shrugged and said this is nothing. There is a reason other parts of the country attract more tornadoes and bad thunderstorms this time of year: high humidity levels contribute to the weather instability.

The humidity here does not necessarily mean moisture follows, however. Rain has been spotty the last few days from the clouds. Farmers will be of mixed mind when it comes to seeing rain clouds: people are already harvesting in the fields, hay has been cut, and quality of some of the crops has already been affected by moisture last week.

Yet everyone also recognizes there are parts of the West where drought has been becoming a lot more serious. Forest fire smoke is a reminder that there are parts that are suffering a lot of loss to fires started by lightning or humans.

Our newspaper website, www.capitalpress.com, as been carrying extensive stories from our reporters as well as from Associated Press about the fire damage and threats so far.

One of the dramatic graphics that came out last week show what is the drought forecast for the upcoming months, Unfortunately, it shows there are some serious problems in the West, and other parts are expected to worsen.

Let us know what conditions are like in your area: have you received the moisture you need? How dry is it? How is it affecting your crops? What do you think will happen in the next few months? Do you trust these national weather forecasts?

We welcome your feedback.


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