News | Washington State Climate Office

Nov 7, 2025 | Climate Matters, Climate Review, Drought and Soil Conditions, November 2025 Newsletter, Rain and Snow, Temperature

Climate Matters: Water Year 2025 in Review

Water year 2025 is complete, and it’s time to take a look back and see how WA stacked up historically. The 2025 water year includes the 12 months from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025, as opposed to the usual calendar year.

Oct 7, 2025 | Climate Matters, Climate Variability, El Niño/La Niña and Global Climate Oscillations, October 2025 Newsletter

Climate Matters: Haven’t there been a lot of La Niña winters lately?

Many regular readers of this column are aware of the effects of La Niña, and variations in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in general, on the overall weather of the Pacific Northwest during the cool season.

Sep 8, 2025 | Climate Matters, Rain and Snow, Seasonal, September 2025 Newsletter, Trends

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.

Aug 11, 2025 | August 2025 Newsletter, Climate Matters, Climate Variability, Extreme Heat, Temperature, Trends

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.

Jul 8, 2025 | Climate Matters, Climate Review, Extreme Heat, July 2025 Newsletter

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.

A landscape photo of Mt. Spokane State Park with a pink horizon and forested, dark ridges in the mid- and foreground.

Jun 6, 2025 | Climate Matters, Climate Review, Climate Variability, June 2025 Newsletter, Trends

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.

May 5, 2025 | Climate Matters, May 2025 Newsletter, Seasonal, Trends

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?

Apr 4, 2025 | April 2025 Newsletter, Climate Matters, Climate Review, Climate Variability, Drought and Soil Conditions

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).

Mar 10, 2025 | Climate Matters, Climate Variability, Rain and Snow, Seasonal, Trends

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.

Feb 11, 2025 | Climate Matters, Climate Variability, El Niño/La Niña and Global Climate Oscillations

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.