News | Washington State Climate Office

Dec 5, 2017 | Climate Matters, Seasonal, Trends

Is Winter Coming Later to Washington State?

The Office of the Washington State Climatologist sometimes receives questions about whether the timing of the seasons has shifted. Ken Kunkel and collaborators have examined how the length of the growing season has changed across the lower 48 states, and others have documented the changes from a regional perspective (e.g., Abatzoglou et al., 2014 and the Climate Impacts Group).

Nov 3, 2017 | Climate Matters, Climate Review

Two Online Applications for the UW Climate Community

There are all kinds of options for gathering and plotting historical weather data online. Regular consumers of this kind of data are liable to have their favorite sources and in this regard, familiarity comforts (rather than breeds contempt, as the saying goes).

Oct 5, 2017 | Air Quality and Wildfire, Climate Matters

Western WA Summer Smoke and Air Quality

The past summer has been quite remarkable in the Pacific Northwest. Averaged over WA State, the June through August average temperatures ranked as the 4th warmest in the historical record with temperatures 2.6°F above the 1981-2010 normal.

Sep 7, 2017 | Climate Events, Climate Matters, Clouds and Fog, Temperature

On the “Great American Solar Eclipse”

While not a meteorological phenomenon, the historic “Great American Solar Eclipse” passed over the US on August 21, offering a view of at least a partial solar eclipse for the entire country, and deserves mention in this newsletter.

Aug 7, 2017 | Climate Matters, El Niño/La Niña and Global Climate Oscillations, Seasonal

Prediction of Mean Summer Temperatures in Washington State

Recent work at OWSC has led us to ponder just how predictable summer mean temperatures are in Washington state. We constructed a simple model for a workshop on El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the seasonal weather of the western US with this question in mind.

Jul 7, 2017 | Climate Matters, Extreme Heat

The Warmest Time of the Year in Washington State

We have made it through the month of June and so now we can expect generally warmer weather in Washington state. Most everybody who has lived here longer than a year or two appreciates that this is the case, but perhaps it is not obvious why.

Jun 13, 2017 | Climate Matters, Rain and Snow, Seasonal

Are Springs Becoming Rainier in Washington State?

It has been a wet spring in Washington state. The second half of May 2017 has actually been dry but that does not really make up for the drenching from March through mid-May.

May 8, 2017 | Climate Matters, Drought and Soil Conditions, Seasonal

Springtime Soil Temperatures in Washington State

One need not be a regular reader of this newsletter to appreciate how cool and wet it has been in WA during the past winter and early spring of 2017 (but hopefully it does not hurt).

Mar 8, 2017 | Climate Matters, Flooding and Streamflow, Seasonal

Springtime Floods in Eastern WA

Winter is winding down in the Pacific Northwest, which means that floods are becoming less and less likely on many of our streams. In particular, rivers draining watersheds at mostly lower elevations, especially on the west side of the state, tend to experience their greatest streamflows from fall into the middle of winter in association with heavy rains.

Feb 9, 2017 | Climate Matters, Forecasts

Skill of Seasonal Weather Forecasts from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center

The last section of our newsletter features reproductions of monthly and seasonal weather forecasts for WA from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC). How good actually are these forecasts?
We analyzed an archive of past CPC temperature and precipitation seasonal forecasts, and corresponding observations, for the years of 1995-2015 in Washington State.