Our monthly newsletter features a Climate Matters article, detailing a specific aspect of Washington’s weather and climate. These articles are archived here and categorized by topic area and date.
Are Washington Summers Changing? A long-term look at Washington Precipitation Trends
If you have lived in Washington for long enough, you are probably well aware that our dry and sunny summers end predictably around October or early November when fall rains and cloud cover move in.
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Our Afternoon Heat Comes Later
Editor’s note (08/13/2025 4:30pm): Time of day was previously shown in standard time on the graphs below, in error. The graphs and text are now updated to Pacific Daylight Time.
One of the things I really appreciate about living here is how late it stays light out.
A New Paper Synthesizing Studies on the June 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Wave Now Available
The June issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) featured a new paper synthesizing over 70 articles on the record-breaking June 2021 Pacific Northwest (PNW) heat wave. I am a co-author on the article, collaborating with experts at Oregon State University and Portland State University.
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Climatology of the Northeastern Washington Climate Division (#9)
In this edition of Climate Matters, we return to our Climate Division series in which we describe the local climate features in each of Washington’s 10 climate divisions, as defined by NOAA.
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Trends in the Timing of Spring Across Washington
There are a truly dizzying number of ways to measure the start of spring: Is it when lilacs start blooming and grapevines begin to leaf out? Or is it that first warm day of the season when local parks fill up?
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The Fifth Pacific Northwest Water Year 2024 Impacts Assessment
The fifth Pacific Northwest (PNW) Water Year Impacts Assessment, released in March, chronicles the water year, its impacts, and how people responded across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho during the 2024 water year (October 1, 2023-September 30, 2024).
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Has it seemed cold and snowy during February in recent years?
Some folks have been remarking on how often it has been cold and sometimes snowy in February during the past decade or so. In part this can probably be attributed to the just-completed February of 2025, which has been the snowiest month of the winter for much of the state, especially at lower elevations on both sides of the Cascade Mountains.
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Detecting La Niña in a Changing Climate
Global oceans have been very warm since 2023
It is no secret that global Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) have been steadily increasing for decades (Fig. 1) due to climate change. Notably, conditions since 2023 have been considerably warmer (highlighted in yellow on Fig.
Rain on Snow
This is the time of year when it’s not just the climate geeks who are following what’s happening with our mountain snowpack. A range of audiences from winter sports enthusiasts to water managers are interested.
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Winter Wind Chill Temperatures in WA State
Regular readers of our newsletter are quite familiar with the usual temperature and precipitation patterns across Washington state during winter. On the regional scale there are notable differences between the maritime conditions prevailing west of the Cascades, and the more continental conditions on the east side.
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