Climate Matters | Washington State Climate Office

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.

Apr 8, 2021 | Climate Matters, Climate Review, Drought and Soil Conditions

PNW 2020 Water Year Impacts Assessment Released

The Pacific Northwest Water Year 2020 Impacts Assessment has been released and is now available online. Sponsored by the NOAA National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), OWSC and colleagues with the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group led this regional collaboration that involved researchers and state and federal practitioners from Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

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.

Does the Arctic Oscillation Relate to the Variability in the Weather of WA?

The term “polar vortex” has been in the news recently, prompting this piece on the connection of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) to the weather of WA. In early January 2021, some attention was given to the polar vortex and the relationship to the sudden stratospheric warming that occurred near the pole (AO+).

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.

Dec 7, 2020 | Climate Matters, Clouds and Fog, Temperature

Surface Radiative Heat Fluxes

Meteorologists and climatologists go to considerable effort to figure out from where air masses originate, because of course that has a great deal to do with the weather. A good example pertains to the upcoming winter’s weather.

A Tale of Two Sea Surface Temperatures

There is a strong indication that at least moderate, and possibly strong, La Niña conditions will be present during the upcoming winter of 2020-21. Many readers of this newsletter know of the implications for WA state, namely improved odds of seasonal mean weather on the wet and cool side and healthy snow totals in the mountains at the end of winter.

Oct 7, 2020 | Air Quality and Wildfire, Climate Events, Climate Matters, Temperature

Cooler Temperatures from the Smoke of September

The thick smoke that blanketed much of WA state during a stretch of days in September 2020 is apt to be long remembered. A visible satellite image from the morning of 12 September (Fig.

Sep 3, 2020 | Climate Matters, Climate Variability, Seasonal, Temperature, Winds

The Diurnal Cycle in Summer Temperatures in Washington State

Summer visitors to WA state are sometimes struck by how cool it is during the late night and early morning hours, and how late in the day it stays warm. This can be especially the case during our hottest weather, when peak temperatures often occur at 5 to 6 PM local time.