Some areas of the northwest are dealing with a very warm spring, and were less than a month to officially being in the summer.

Some areas of Washington are already declared to be in drought.

An irrigation district in the Yakima Valley is in the midst of a two week shutdown to conserve water for later in the summer when it's very, very hot and dry out.

Part of the problem was not enough snowpack and it's melting quickly.

Here's Caroline Mellor, Washington's Department of Ecology statewide drought lead.

“There is the possibility that based on these conditions and with our state's drought declaration process, that we may expand the existing drought emergency declaration for additional areas of the state.” Of course, little rain, little snowpack and high heat are a perfect storm for wildfires, too.

Remember, you can stay up to date on Northwest Fire News at NWPB.org.

Click on the news tab and find the Fire Coverage page.

People in the Tri-Cities watch out for norovirus.

The Benton-Franklin Health District is reporting a sharp rise in cases.

Norovirus is very contagious.

It's spread through contact with infected people and surfaces.

It can cause diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, and fever.

Sometimes people mistake it for food poisoning.

Dr. Steve Krager with the Benton-Franklin Health District says the Tri-Cities isn't alone.

He says some of the worst norovirus outbreaks in years are happening all around the country.

“So we seem to be, unfortunately, bearing some of the brunt of that as well.

So we've just had some large outbreaks the last couple of months that have made us concerned.” To protect yourself and others, remember to wash your hands thoroughly and stay home if you're sick.

Federal funding that helped put mental health professionals in south central Washington schools is cut.

That program discontinued.

Heritage University helped run the program.

The school plans to continue its two graduate programs even without placing its students as interns in schools where that's needed.

Heritage representatives say that some rural schools could be left without that support.

The federal decision to cut the funding is being appealed, and the people behind it are also looking at how they can continue the work without that funding.

Read about some of the ideas on NWPB.org