News | Washington State Climate Office

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.

Aug 8, 2024 | Climate Matters, Extreme Heat

Heat Waves: Heat-related illness (HRI) Prevention and Adaptation

With the hotter conditions in early July across the Pacific Northwest we’ve received a lot of questions about trends in heat waves. Past research from OWSC has shown that daytime heat waves — which we defined as 3 consecutive days above the 99th percentile — do not yet show a statistically significant trend across western Washington and western Oregon.

Aug 9, 2022 | Climate Matters, Extreme Heat, Seasonal

Frequency of Hot Temperatures in Summer

This month’s highlight is inspired by the unusually long-lasting heat wave in WA that occurred during the last week of July 2022. We were interested in how the frequency of hot temperatures, in terms of not just maximum but also minimum values, changes over the latter part of summer.

Jul 11, 2022 | Climate Change Report, Climate Matters, Extreme Heat, Rain and Snow

U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit Climate Explorer

There is a large and growing number of web applications serving climate data. Notably, the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit (toolkit.climate.gov/ tools) has over 500 digital tools in its catalog catering to a wide range of users.

Aug 5, 2021 | Climate Matters, Extreme Heat, Humidity

Wet Bulb Globe Temperatures during the 2021 Heat Wave

As must be well known by all the readers of this newsletter, the Pacific Northwest suffered through a severe heat wave at the end of June 2021. In association with extreme geopotential heights aloft and thermally-induced low pressure near the surface, many all-time temperature records were set.

Jun 6, 2019 | Climate Matters, Extreme Heat, Humidity

Humidity Variation during Heat Waves in WA State

Summer is approaching, and while there will surely be some spells of hot weather, we cannot say much about their severity. Our most extreme heat waves tend to occur in July and August, but they certainly can occur earlier in summer and occasionally well into September.

Jun 8, 2018 | Climate Matters, Extreme Heat, Seasonal

Experimental Potential Heat Risk Forecasts from the National Weather Service

We have already had some warm weather in WA during the past May, and rest assured more is on the way for the upcoming summer. While our temperatures do not tend to get as high as those in many other parts of the country, it can certainly get hot enough to represent a health risk, especially for vulnerable groups – which include young children and elderly as well as those with some medical conditions.

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.

Jul 8, 2016 | Climate Events, Climate Matters, Climate Review, Extreme Heat, Rain and Snow

July 1960- Washington State’s Driest Month

An unofficial nickname for Washington is the “Evergreen State”; the term is included on our vehicle license plates. But we actually enjoy a Mediterranean climate with wet winters and dry summers, and much of the state is more brown than green during the summer.