LONG BEACH — In what may be a unique occurrence, Pacific County on Thursday was classified as being in “Severe Drought” by the National Drought Mitigation Center, a consortium led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In fact, all of Washington with the exception of parts of Cowlitz, Clark and Skamania counties moved into the severe classification in data posted online Thursday morning.

Northern portions of the Pacific Northwest were two-to-eight degrees above normal in the past week, the drought center said.

“The continued overall hot and dry conditions in the Pacific Northwest led to movement of the impact lines on this week’s map to reflect the short-term impacts being reported across the region. Hot and dry conditions during the past 60 days have impacted the region’s agricultural sectors, fisheries, and wildland fire conditions,” according to the center.