News | Washington State Climate Office

Apr 8, 2022 | Climate Matters, Climate Review, Rain and Snow, Temperature

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?

Jul 8, 2021 | Climate Matters, Climate Review, Rain and Snow, Temperature, Winds

Climatology of WA’s Puget Sound Lowlands Climate Division (#3)

This is the third installment of the “Climate Divisions of WA” series, in which we discuss Climate Division 3 – the Puget Sound Lowlands Climate Division. For analyses of Climate Divisions 1 and 2, see the August 2018 and August 2019 editions of our newsletter.

Jun 8, 2021 | Climate Matters, Climate Review, Rain and Snow, Temperature, Winds

The Ideal Climate Index Results Are In!

Readers of this newsletter may recall the piece in the January 2021 edition featuring a link to a survey aimed at determining the location in Washington state with the best climate.

Mar 8, 2021 | Climate Matters, Climate Variability, Rain and Snow

Mountain Snow Depth gets a New Display

OWSC is pleased to release a new web tool that displays the bi-monthly snow depth data from the Northwest Avalanche Center (NWAC). Partially supported by Tableau, this was a collaboration between NWAC and OWSC and was recently featured in a UW News piece.

Jan 8, 2021 | Climate Matters, Climate Review, Rain and Snow, Temperature, Winds

What is the Ideal Climate?

The Camelot Climate Index (https://ggweather.com/ camelot.htm), created by Jan Null (Certified Consulting Meteorologist, Golden Gate Weather Services) to score U.S. locations based on an “ideal” climate, was recently discussed on the American Association of State Climatologists (AASC) listserv.

Jan 7, 2020 | Climate Matters, Rain and Snow

Snow Depth versus Snow Water Equivalent in the Cascades of Washington State

Winter has arrived in earnest and the snow is finally starting to pile up in the mountains of Washington state. There are two principal measures of the snowpack: snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE).

Sep 6, 2019 | Climate Matters, Marine, Rain and Snow

Ocean Weather Ship Papa: A Precipitation Time-Series

Ocean Weather Ship (OWS) Papa (P) at 50°North, 145°West was occupied almost continuously from December 1949 to August 1981 by the Canadian Weathership Program (Figure 1). These ships collected high-quality meteorological and oceanographic data that represent valuable time series for a remote location in the Northeast Pacific Ocean.

Apr 3, 2019 | Climate Matters, Rain and Snow, Seasonal

Melting of the Cascade Mountain Snowpack in Spring

The date of 1 April is often considered the end of winter for the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Snow can continue to fall in the high country, of course, but the vast majority of the accumulation has generally occurred by that time of year.

Mar 11, 2019 | Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulation Patterns, Climate Matters, Extreme Cold, Rain and Snow

Kona Storms and Winter Weather in WA State

As detailed here, the month of February 2019 will long be remembered for its snowy weather, especially in the lowlands of western Washington. We are not the only place that has experienced some unusual conditions – here we direct our attention to Hawaii, and in particular the “Kona” storm that slammed the state during the second week of the month.

Jan 4, 2019 | Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulation Patterns, Climate Events, Climate Matters, Climate Review, Rain and Snow, Temperature

January 1953: Largest Positive Monthly Temperature Anomaly in WA State History

Considering statewide averages, what would constitute a large monthly anomaly in temperature? And would we expect to see the largest monthly anomaly in winter or summer? At OWSC, these are the sorts of questions that we ask ourselves as we begin a new calendar year.