COFFEE BREAK B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD SATuRDAY, MARCH 19, 2022 Jealousy leads to cracks in trio’s relationships like I’m not spending enough time with her. I know the conventional advice is to dump one or the other, but I care about them both too much to lose either one, and I need to find a balance instead. How do I go about having a best friend and a relationship at the same time? — PULLED IN TWO DIRECTIONS DEAR PULLED: Start by telling Kara that if you wanted a romance with Leia, it would have already happened, and that your friendship with Leia is important to you. Then tell Kara you care about her and feel there could be a future with her, but only if she’s able to control her jeal- DEAR ABBY: My best friend of a few years, “Leia,” and I are very close. We were basi- cally a unit, spending every day together. But now I have a girl- friend, “Kara.” She’s a mutual friend of both of us. Kara and I have been together for only a few months, but I already care about her very much. I don’t want things to change. The problem is, she’s jealous of the connection I have with Leia, and Leia feels ditched, ousy and insecurity where Leia is concerned. After that, explain to Leia that you care about your friendship very much and don’t want her to feel neglected, but now that you have a girlfriend, you have less time to spend with her than you did in the past. Then cross your fingers. DEAR ABBY: From the time I was a child, I’ve always wanted to be helpful. If people asked me for favors, no matter how small or out of the way they were, I was always happy to help. Recently, though, I have been noticing that when I ask for help in return, there are very few people I can actually rely on. and trying to figure out how to politely ask the groom’s mother to help with the finances. When is the best time, or should I ask the groom to do it? We don’t think he wants to ask her. — QUESTIONING IN NEW JERSEY DEAR QUESTIONING: Have a “truth session” with your daughter and her fiance. If the wedding they’re planning is too rich for your budget, it is important to make it plain now. As to who should ask his mother to contribute, that question should come from your daugh- ter’s fiance, after which a con- versation may or may not begin with your soon-to-be in-law. I know a lot of people con- sider me naive and gullible because of my willingness to help, but I have reached the point where I don’t want to do any- thing for anyone unless they’re sincere about their friendship. How do I politely show them I’m not as clueless and naive as they think I am? — FRUSTRATED AND ANNOYED DEAR FRUSTRATED: You don’t have to be confronta- tional or unpleasant. Accomplish that goal by being less helpful — far less helpful — to those who don’t return the favors you bestow. DEAR ABBY: We are plan- ning our daughter’s wedding Hot spring forecast: Drought deepens in West largest drought cov- erage since 2013, said Jon Gottschalck, oper- ational prediction chief at NOAA’s Climate Pre- diction Center. He said the conditions are likely to get worse in many of those areas and could set the stage for more heat waves. La Nina, a natural peri- odic cooling of the cen- tral Pacific that affects cli- mate worldwide, is a huge factor in the spring out- look, Gottschalck said. In California, espe- cially the Central Valley, three-year rain and snow levels will soon reach the lowest on record since 1922, said Brett Whitin, a hydrologist at NOAA’s California Nevada River Forecast Center. Cal- ifornia has 1.5 mil- lion acre feet less water available than it did this time last year, and he said the only hope is for heavy December snow to make up for some of the shortfall. “It does make for some very difficult (crop) pro- ducer decisions as what to continue to grow and what to keep alive,” said Brad Rippey, a U.S. Department of Agricul- ture meteorologist, in a press briefing. The more than 20-year megadrought gripping the West is the worst in 1,200 years and is stoked by human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, studies have found. Worsening drought also sets the stage for more dangerous wildfires in summer, said Brad Pugh, a drought meteorologist By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer There’s no relief in sight for the West’s record-shattering mega- drought, which will likely only deepen this spring, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- tration said in its sea- sonal outlook Thursday, March 17. But central and eastern states should be mostly spared from sig- nificant flooding. Spring is likely to be hotter than normal in most states and drier as well for much of the West, NOAA meteorolo- gists said. They said the high heat and drought will fuel each other as the lack of rain makes it hotter, intensifying dry conditions. NOAA predicts all of the Lower 48 states to be warmer than normal in April, May and June except Wash- ington, Oregon, Montana, North Dakota and much of Idaho. Only an area around the Great Lakes down to Kentucky is fore- cast to be wetter than normal. Worsening aller- gies are expected in the areas that will be hot and wet. “Drought has increased, especially in the West as it has warmed,” said Deke Arndt, NOAA’s climate science and services chief. “The reason the West is warming is cli- mate change, especially over the multiple decade timeframe.” Already, 60% of the nation is in some form of drought, the u.S. Drought Monitor Most of Eastern Oregon is in severe or extreme drought. with the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. In the central part of the country, spring often brings flooding worries. But this year, the flooding risk is minor for much of the Mississippi River valley and Tennessee Valley. Major flooding and sig- nificant damage might affect about 500,000 people, which is far fewer than in most years. Above average precipitation and other factors increased flood risk near the Red River that divides North Dakota and Minnesota, NOAA said. weather | Go to AccuWeather.com Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald, File This image taken from a drone on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, shows Mason Dam at lower right, and the water intake structure, center right near the shore, at Phillips Reservoir. AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION Astoria Longview 40/50 Kennewick 40/50 St. Helens 38/49 40/51 39/51 40/56 40/51 38/51 Condon SUN MON TUE WED Partly cloudy Snow showers in the a.m. A morning shower; cloudy Not as cool A shower in the afternoon 26 44 27 51 35 60 34 63 35 Eugene 3 9 10 36/52 50 36 60 37 66 37 4 10 10 La Grande 0 32 43 29 Comfort Index™ Enterprise 1 0 0 27 40 28 Comfort Index™ 2 56 35 62 39 4 10 10 ALMANAC TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin NATION (for the 48 contiguous states) High: 97° Low: -3° Wettest: 2.84” 51° 20° 53° 22° 55° 24° PRECIPITATION (inches) Thursday Trace Month to date 0.05 Normal month to date 0.40 Year to date 0.44 Normal year to date 1.69 Trace 0.39 0.93 2.26 3.83 0.01 1.45 1.26 7.00 6.87 AGRICULTURAL INFO. HAY INFORMATION SUNDAY Lowest relative humidity Afternoon wind Hours of sunshine Evapotranspiration 45% NW at 8 to 16 mph 0.0 0.07 RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Friday) Phillips Reservoir Unity Reservoir Owyhee Reservoir McKay Reservoir Wallowa Lake Thief Valley Reservoir 6% of capacity 44% of capacity 28% of capacity 59% of capacity 32% of capacity 77% of capacity STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Thursday) Grande Ronde at Troy 5230 cfs Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder 1 cfs Burnt River near Unity 7 cfs Umatilla River near Gibbon 550 cfs Minam River at Minam 306 cfs Powder River near Richland 53 cfs McAllen, Texas Daniel, Wyo. Leonardtown, Md. OREGON High: 64° Low: 18° Wettest: 0.02” Grants Pass Burns Astoria WEATHER HISTORY A heavy, wet snowstorm began in the mid-Atlantic region on March 19, 1958. By the time it ended, over 18 inches of snow had accumulated from northern Virginia to Massachusetts. SUN & MOON SAT. Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset SUN. 6:58 a.m. 6:56 a.m. 7:03 p.m. 7:05 p.m. 9:00 p.m. 10:17 p.m. 7:53 a.m. 8:14 a.m. MOON PHASES Last Mar 24 New Mar 31 First Apr 8 Beaver Marsh 37/53 Full Apr 16 36/54 Silver Lake Jordan Valley 26/42 Paisley 23/48 20/45 Frenchglen 25/44 33/55 Klamath Falls 19/47 McDermitt 26/41 RECREATION FORECAST SUNDAY MON. Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W 50/44/r 51/44/sh 48/34/c 58/43/c 50/30/pc 52/36/pc 52/42/c 57/48/c 46/26/pc 54/32/c 50/40/c 52/43/c 51/41/sh 52/43/r 43/24/pc 48/30/c 44/29/sf 49/37/c 52/42/c 55/43/r 57/43/c 62/42/c 51/43/r 55/45/r 44/35/c 50/42/c 43/32/c 51/36/c 37/27/pc 44/35/c 60/44/c 62/42/r 47/24/pc 55/30/c 46/23/pc 57/32/c 33/51 Lakeview 19/46 REGIONAL CITIES City Astoria Bend Boise Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Council Elgin Eugene Hermiston Hood River Imnaha John Day Joseph Kennewick Klamath Falls Lakeview Grand View Arock 30/47 28/44 Shown is Sunday’s weather. Temperatures are Saturday night’s lows and Sunday’s highs. SUN. Diamond 25/42 Fields Medford Brookings Boise 32/50 34/57 38/52 28/50 21/47 Chiloquin Grants Pass Juntura 22/46 27/43 20/43 Ontario 35/54 Burns Brothers 32/47 Roseburg Huntington 22/40 Bend Coos Bay 28/43 33/48 Seneca 30/48 Oakridge Council 26/44 25/43 30/48 Elkton Powers 26/43 24/34 John Day 25/48 Sisters Florence 39/49 Halfway Granite Baker City Redmond 39/50 THURSDAY EXTREMES High Thursday Low Thursday 27/40 34/51 Newport 38/50 Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable. 28/49 34/44 38/52 37/53 46 37 0 Corvallis Enterprise 32/43 Monument 36/52 Idanha Salem TONIGHT Comfort Index™ Elgin 31/44 La Grande 32/47 Maupin Baker City 35/53 Pendleton The Dalles Portland Newberg 40/50 36/52 Hood River 34/52 TIllamook Lewiston Walla Walla 38/60 Vancouver Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022 SUN. City Lewiston Longview Meacham Medford Newport Olympia Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Powers Redmond Roseburg Salem Spokane The Dalles Ukiah Walla Walla MON. Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W 52/36/pc 53/42/c 50/43/r 50/48/r 44/28/sn 48/38/c 55/37/c 59/41/c 50/40/r 51/44/sh 49/40/r 51/45/r 54/33/c 57/35/c 60/41/c 62/43/r 52/39/pc 56/45/c 51/44/r 53/46/r 53/41/c 59/46/c 48/31/pc 54/36/c 54/42/c 57/43/c 52/42/r 55/45/r 48/32/pc 46/36/c 56/43/c 57/46/c 40/29/sf 47/38/c 53/40/pc 55/45/c Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice ANTHONY LAKES PHILLIPS LAKE A little snow Clouds and sun 20 19 39 29 MT. EMILY REC. BROWNLEE RES. A little a.m. snow Mostly cloudy 30 25 45 29 EAGLE CAP WILD. EMIGRANT ST. PARK Clouds and sun Snow showers 25 16 36 26 WALLOWA LAKE MCKAY RESERVOIR Clouds and sun Some sun, a shower 37 27 48 36 THIEF VALLEY RES. RED BRIDGE ST. PARK Snow showers Snow showers 44 27 43 29