No rain in July continues to put Yachats-area in tougher drought conditions

By Lincoln Chronicle staff

Yes, it’s dry as everyone knows. How dry? Just ask the weather watchers who send monthly rain and weather reports to the Lincoln Chronicle.

Up Yachats River Road? No rain – nothing — in July.

Along the road overlooking the ocean in downtown Yachats? Four hundredths of an inch – mostly from heavy overnight mist.

It’s so dry that last week the city of Yachats – as many Lincoln County cities and water districts have done – asked residents to conserve water by limiting the days they watered lawns and gardens.

So here are some numbers.

Jim Adler, who lives three miles up Yachats River Road recorded no rain in July. His average over the past 16 years is .54 inches of rain for the month. It was his fifth driest July over those 16 years.

Bob Williams, who lives eight miles up Yachats River Road, also recorded no rain in July. His year-to-date rain total is 55.21 inches – nine inches below his average the past seven years.

Adam Altson, who lives on Ocean View Drive in Yachats, recorded .04 inches for July but says “It might all have been from heavy mist right along the ocean.”

“My total for the year is 29.73 inches,” Altson said. “That’s about 4.5 inches lower than previous low of 34.19 inches in 2018. My average seven-month total is 37.86 inches.”

Julie Bailey, who lives at the 220 elevation mark above downtown Yachats, also recorded .04 inches of rain (or mist) in July. She has measured 38.68 inches of rain so far in 2025 which is 14 inches less than her seven-month total in 2024 but just two inches less than the previous dry year of 2023.

Don Tucker, who lives two miles north of Yachats, recorded .10 inches of rain in July, one-fifth of his .53 average the past 19 years. His year-to-date rainfall total is 36.40 inches, four inches below his 19-year average.

Weather quotes:

Altson: “August is usually slightly wetter than July, but not enough to make much of a dent in our deficit for the year. I’ve never recorded an inch of rain in August.”

Williams: “The July numbers are fairly typical. What’s different this year is that the rainfall dropped off at the end of March instead of May.”

Adler: “Dry Julys may not be a good indicator of anything. The dry July of 2013 was in my driest year total of 64.43 inches but the dry July of 2017 was in my wettest year total of 123.55 inches.”