Our monthly newsletter features a Climate Matters article, detailing a specific aspect of Washington’s weather and climate. These articles are archived here and categorized by topic area and date.
Steep Decline in Streamflows in Washington State
The total statewide averaged precipitation for the 2018 water year to date (1 Oct through 30 June) has been about 3.6” above normal. There was a healthy snowpack on 1 April — the traditional end of winter from the snowpack perspective — with snow water equivalent (SWE) values ranging from about 136% of normal in the Upper Columbia region to 98% in the southern Puget Sound region.
Read moreExperimental 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.
Read moreWhat Climate Change means to our Crucial Snowpack
Originally published in The Seattle Times on March 23, 2018
“Low mountain snowpack raises water-supply fears in Washington” was a Seattle Times headline on January 6, 2015. Just one year later, another headline proclaimed, “Snow pack in good shape, likely well into spring”.
Late Cold during Winters in Washington State
As reported above, the last 2 weeks of February were quite chilly, with numerous locations setting all-time lows for the date on the 23rd. Many places have had their coldest temperatures of this winter in late February, even though the nights are noticeably shorter than in December and January.
Read moreWettest Month in State History – December 1933
In three previous newsletters we’ve reviewed the warmest (July 1985), coldest (January 1950), and driest (July 1960) months over the last 100 years for WA State. Here we complete the series with a look back at the wettest month in WA State history dating back to when modern records began in the 1890s: December 1933.
Read moreRegional Circulation Patterns and Temperatures in Winter
It is perhaps belaboring the obvious, but temperatures have increased in WA over the last 50-100 years. From the perspective of extremes, our colder winter months, relative to climatological norms, are not as anomalous as in past decades, and our much warmer than usual months are occurring more frequently.
Read moreIs Winter Coming Later to Washington State?
The Office of the Washington State Climatologist sometimes receives questions about whether the timing of the seasons has shifted. Ken Kunkel and collaborators have examined how the length of the growing season has changed across the lower 48 states, and others have documented the changes from a regional perspective (e.g., Abatzoglou et al., 2014 and the Climate Impacts Group).
Read moreTwo Online Applications for the UW Climate Community
There are all kinds of options for gathering and plotting historical weather data online. Regular consumers of this kind of data are liable to have their favorite sources and in this regard, familiarity comforts (rather than breeds contempt, as the saying goes).
Read moreWestern WA Summer Smoke and Air Quality
The past summer has been quite remarkable in the Pacific Northwest. Averaged over WA State, the June through August average temperatures ranked as the 4th warmest in the historical record with temperatures 2.6°F above the 1981-2010 normal.
Read moreOn the “Great American Solar Eclipse”
While not a meteorological phenomenon, the historic “Great American Solar Eclipse” passed over the US on August 21, offering a view of at least a partial solar eclipse for the entire country, and deserves mention in this newsletter.
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