Climate Impacts Group

Friday soaker nowhere near enough to pull WA from drought

Washington was slumped in a drought even before the summer began. The rain that began falling early Friday was a welcome sight, but it won’t be near enough to overcome the long-standing deficit. State Climatologist Guillaume Mauger is mentioned.  

Smoke, sprinklers, aluminum foil: Fighting fire on the Olympic Peninsula

Extreme heat launched the Bear Gulch Fire across 2,000 additional acres of forest on Tuesday and Wednesday, pouring thick smoke on the Hood Canal communities of Hoodsport and Skokomish, Washington. In the three months leading up to the fire, Lake Cushman received 30% of its normal 9.4 inches of rainfall. State Climatologist Guillaume Mauger is mentioned.  

Odds tilt in favor of winter La Niña, National Weather Service says

The National Weather Service issued a La Niña watch, raising hopes the coming winter will bust up stubborn drought conditions in the Northwest.  The weather service’s Climate Prediction Center reported Aug. 14 that the odds slightly favor a La Niña forming by November and sticking around for December and January. Deputy State Climatologist Karin Bumbaco is quoted. 

Amid a hot and smoky Pacific Northwest summer, communities seek innovative and collaborative solutions to build resilience

Against [the] backdrop of escalating climate risk, C2ES recently traveled to Seattle, Washington to kick off the second regional Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator. The first in-person convening of the South-Central Puget Sound Accelerator focused on extreme heat and wildfire smoke impacts in the region. State Climatologist Guillaume Mauger is mentioned.  

Integrating Climate Adaptation into Water System Planning: CIG’s Collaboration with WA Dept. of Health

HB1181 tasked the Climate Impacts Group with supporting DOH’s development of the WSP CRE, recently published in the updated Water System Planning Guidebook. Resources developed as part of this effort include the supplemental DOH WSP Climate Resilience Element workbook and a webpage with curated resources. “This new requirement provides an important opportunity to connect water system practitioners with a broad array of established tools and resources designed to strengthen system resilience to emerging climate-related risks,” describes Ryan Hasert, CIG Scientist and co-author of the CRE.

Director’s Corner: Onward

Dear Climate Impacts Group community:

I was delighted to join the Climate Impacts Group as the new director this February, and I am honored to lead this amazing team. Between collaborating with Amy Snover on a chapter of my PhD dissertation in 2016, to frequently crossing paths with Guillaume Mauger on aquatic habitat restoration and climate change adaptation issues over the last several years, when I decided to make the transition to CIG, it felt like coming home! I have so appreciated the warm welcome from the CIG staff, the UW community, and all of our partners and collaborators.

As many of you know, it’s been a difficult few months for CIG with the termination of two of our major NOAA grants, including the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative. 

Introducing the Climate Impacts Group “Our Climate Future” Webinar Series

The Climate Impacts Group (CIG) is beginning a new webinar series, titled “Our Climate Future,” building on 30 years of the organization’s research, data, tools, and impact, to inspire new ways to stay connected and move forward during this critical time.

Don’t Get Crabby, Get Proactive! Invasive Species Science at the NW CASC

The European green crab (Carcinas maenas), brought to the area by ocean conditions altered by climate change, is threatening shellfish industries, Tribal food sources and estuarine habitats across the Pacific Northwest. Where it becomes established, it preys on clams, mussels and oysters, degrades habitat by destroying aquatic vegetation, and eats and competes with juvenile Dungeness crabs, massively disrupting marine ecosystems.

Fortunately, timely management responses and removal interventions have helped control the spread and impact of the European green crab. Researchers, state agencies and Tribes are working hard to understand how best to protect our ecosystems and resources from this threat.

The Northwest Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (NW RISCC) Network, a program within the CIG-hosted Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, recently published a management brief, which shares information on the ways warming temperatures can influence this ongoing invasion and highlights the role climate adaptation can play in management. 

WA’s drought deepens and the summer forecast offers no respite

Yes, this is summer and it’s supposed to be hot and dry. But this year we’re much drier than normal and, fresh off major droughts in 2024 and 2023, the effects of these lingering dry spells is compounding. Deputy State Climatologist Karin Bumbaco said, “The driest part of our year is just getting started.” Please reach out to CIG directly if you are unable to access the article.

Leavenworth artist’s climate-themed triptych featured at Smithsonian exhibit

For Earth Day, the Smithsonian featured Leavenworth-borth artist Claire Sianna Seaman’s Imagining a Climate Resilient Future in the Pacific Northwest. The triptych was commissioned by the Climate Impacts Group to celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2020-2021.