News | Washington State Climate Office

Jul 6, 2011 | Climate Matters, Climate Review

NOAA’s New Climate Normals

The standard climate normal, or the 30-year average of weather conditions, is changing. Most anomalies and comparisons to normal conditions have been discussed using the average conditions between 1971 and 2000, but NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) has unveiled the “new normals” on July 1.

Jun 3, 2011 | Climate Matters, Marine, Winds

The Spring Transition in the Winds Along the WA Coast and its Effects on the Coastal Ocean

There is a seasonal cycle in the prevailing winds along the coast of Washington state. Winter winds are generally from the southwest, with considerable variability due to the passage of storms, and summer winds are generally from the northwest, with intermittent periods of southerlies.

May 4, 2011 | Climate Matters, Seasonal

What is Spring?

As summarized in this newsletter, it was a remarkably cool and wet April for Washington state in 2011. All the grumbling about the lousy weather, in particular the common lament that it seemed like winter was never going to end, begs an interesting question.

Mar 8, 2011 | Climate Change Report, Climate Matters

Assessing One’s Carbon Footprint

The issue of global warming may seem remote to many residents of the Pacific Northwest, especially as winter weather has returned with a vengeance at the time of this writing. Nevertheless, global warming and climate change are real, and will have serious repercussions for the environment and human society.

Feb 3, 2011 | Climate Matters, Severe Weather

On the Interannual Variability of the Costliest Weather Events in WA State

WA gets its fair share of nasty weather, and these weather events can cause millions of dollars in damages. The types of events that have the biggest impacts, however, vary markedly from year to year (and do not always make headlines).

Jan 5, 2011 | Air Quality and Wildfire, Climate Matters

Pollution due to Wood Smoke and the Weather of WA State

Air quality is often good in the Pacific Northwest due to the prevailing west to east winds off the North Pacific. There are exceptions to this situation, of course, during which residents of Washington are exposed to hazardous levels of air pollution.

Nov 12, 2010 | Climate Matters, Forecasts

On the Weather Forecasts made by the Old Farmer’s Almanac

One way to annoy many meteorologists is to suggest that the weather forecasts from the Old Farmer’s Almanac (OFA) are more skillful than those from the National Weather Service. I certainly share this peeve, and so on a lark some years ago, I decided to determine for myself whether the OFA forecasts for the Pacific Northwest had merit.

Oct 5, 2010 | Climate Matters, El Niño/La Niña and Global Climate Oscillations

La Niña and the Weather of WA State

The weather of the Pacific Northwest during the coming months, or otherwise known as the cool season, is impacted by the atmosphere-ocean system of the tropical Pacific. This region is currently experiencing what is termed La Nina, and this condition is expected to persist into 2011.

Sep 3, 2010 | Climate Matters, Climate Review

2009 State of the Climate Report Released in BAMS

The State of the Climate Report is a yearly supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) that summarizes the global and regional climate for each calendar year. The 2009 report was released in July (Arndt et al., 2010).

Aug 9, 2010 | Climate Matters, Severe Weather

Thunderstorms in WA State

Thunderstorms occur in the state of Washington relatively infrequently (Figure 1). There are about 20,000 lightning flashes per year on average (1996-2008), according to the National Lightning Detection Network. This sounds like a lot, but in terms of the frequency of flashes per unit area, Washington State actually ranks dead last compared to the rest of the continental United States.