December 8-11, 2025 Heavy Rainfall and Flooding: Historical Context and a Note on Snow Drought
Event recap
Major flooding impacted western Washington and the eastern Cascades last month. Impacts included numerous washouts and landslides on roadways including a weeks-long shutdown of US-2 and lane closures on I-90.
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.
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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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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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Water Year in Review!
We recently held our annual Water Year 2024 Recap & 2025 Outlook Meeting. As a refresher, we often look at our climate through the lens of the “water year”, which goes from October 1st through September 30th, as opposed to the usual calendar year.
Read moreFourth PNW Water Year Impacts Assessment Released
The fourth Pacific Northwest (PNW) Water Year Impacts Assessment, released in March, is a collaborative effort between water managers and scientists at the Office of the Washington State Climatologist, the Climate Impacts Group, Oregon Climate Service, Idaho Department of Water Resources, and the NOAA National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS).
Read morePNW Water Year 2022 Impacts Assessment
The Pacific Northwest (PNW) Water Year 2022 Impacts Assessment is now available! Funded by the NOAA National Integrated Drought Information System, and produced through a collaboration of regional entities, this assessment summarizes the water year conditions and related impacts and responses by different sectors.
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Climate Classification of Washington State
Any Washingtonian can tell you that different areas of the state experience vastly different climates. But what terms can we use to describe those climates? Where are the boundaries between one climate and another?
Read morePNW 2021 Water Year Impacts Assessment Released
The second annual Pacific Northwest (PNW) 2021 Water Year Impacts Assessment was released a few weeks ago. This was a regional collaboration involving researchers and state and federal practitioners, sponsored by the NOAA National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), and led by OWSC.
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