News | Washington State Climate Office

Mar 9, 2026 | Climate Matters, Climate Variability, Flooding and Streamflow, March 2026 Newsletter, Rain and Snow

Climate Matters: Mountain Snowpack and Streamflow

With Washington’s statewide snowpack as of March 5th ranking as the 3rd lowest since modern records began in 1985, questions have been coming into WASCO regarding the potential impacts on spring and summer streamflow.

Feb 7, 2026 | Climate Matters, February 2026 Newsletter, Flooding and Streamflow

Just how big were the December 2025 floods?

This month we’d like to take a break from the news about the snow drought and look back at flooding that happened in December. Many agencies, utilities, and other managers are taking stock of the flooding now that it’s behind us.

Aerial photo of the Sauk Skagit confluence.

Jan 13, 2026 | Climate Matters, Climate Review, Drought and Soil Conditions, Flooding and Streamflow, January 2026 Newsletter, Rain and Snow

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.

Jan 13, 2025 | Climate Matters, Flooding and Streamflow, Rain and Snow

Rain on Snow

This is the time of year when it’s not just the climate geeks who are following what’s happening with our mountain snowpack. A range of audiences from winter sports enthusiasts to water managers are interested.

Oct 15, 2024 | Climate Matters, Flooding and Streamflow, Trends

Study Review: Trends in Flooding for Washington State

As we head into the flood season we thought we would dig up a USGS study from a few years back that took a look at past trends in floods (full citation below).

Aug 9, 2023 | Climate Events, Climate Matters, Climate Variability, Flooding and Streamflow

Whipsaws in Washington State Streamflows

At the risk of belaboring the obvious, we would first like to point out that we have been experiencing unusually dry weather in Washington state. A map of the precipitation during May through July 2023 expressed as a percent of normal.

Nov 5, 2021 | Climate Change Report, Climate Matters, Flooding and Streamflow

Sea Level Rise Projections and Visualizations

On October 31st, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) began in Glasgow, Scotland. There, the parties to the Paris Agreement are expected to ramp up their commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions so that the world may prevent some of the worsening effects of climate change.

Feb 6, 2020 | Climate Matters, Flooding and Streamflow

Timing of Major Floods on 6 Rivers in WA State

The dry weather of autumn 2019 in an overall sense resulted in relatively low streamflows throughout most of WA state, but that story has changed drastically since late December. Since then there have been several periods of above normal streamflows with a number of rivers spilling over their banks.

Jul 12, 2019 | Climate Events, Climate Matters, Flooding and Streamflow, Seasonal

Low Streamflows on the Skagit River in Early Summer 2019

The warm and dry spring of 2019 has raised concerns about water supplies in parts of WA state. It is unclear how much it is a coincidence, but the same topic was addressed in this space a year ago.

Nov 8, 2018 | Climate Events, Climate Matters, El Niño/La Niña and Global Climate Oscillations, Flooding and Streamflow

El Niño Flooding: Flashback to November 2006

The “El Niño watch” issued by the Climate Prediction Center is still in effect, with the expectation that a weak or moderate El Niño will develop this winter. Appropriately, media reports have focused on the increased odds of a warmer and drier winter due to El Niño, with the warmer than usual temperatures being more likely to occur.