Climate Impacts Group

Improved hydraulic modeling predicts flood hazards in Skagit watershed | The UW Daily

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, in partnership with the UW Climate Impacts Group (CIG), Skagit River System Cooperative, and Skagit Climate Science Consortium published “Understanding Current and Future Skagit Flood Risk Through New Modeling Capabilities” earlier this year. The report includes an improved hydraulic model, which encapsulates 85 miles of the Skagit River. 

UW researchers among key contributors to new roadmap for future climate assessments | UW News

Climate Impacts Group’s Meade Krosby and Guillaume Mauger contributed to the Northwest section of the paper. 

New Skagit Valley flood maps show worsening conditions | The Seattle Times

The project, led by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, with partners including the UW Climate Impacts Group, is intended to help local leaders and residents better understand their risk. This article is behind a paywall. To request a PDF copy, please email .

New project better maps Skagit River flooding risks | Go Skagit

New Skagit flood models help officials, residents better understand risks | Cascadia Daily News

Some of the smaller towns in Skagit County are still using paper maps with 40-year-old floodplain designations to inform their decision-making. To fill that information vacuum, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community just wrapped up a two-year project to create an updated, climate-change-informed model of Skagit River and coastal flooding, from the Cascades to the Skagit and Samish deltas. Guillaume Mauger was quoted. 

Climate Smart Communities Initiative Awards CIG, Kalispel Tribe $115k to Support Community-Led Climate Resilience Project

The UW Climate Impacts Group (CIG) was awarded a grant from the Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI), a public-private partnership that helps communities across the country plan and prepare for extreme weather events and other climate impacts.

This award, which includes $115,000 in funding as well as technical support, will enable CIG, the Kalispel Tribe, and the Kalispel Public Works Advisory Committee to work together to address critical water-related climate hazards such as flooding, drought, and stormwater infrastructure degradation in the Kalispel community. The grant will support staff coordination and data collection to complete a Drought, Flood, and Stormwater Vulnerability Assessment for the protection of critical infrastructure and natural habitats. 

A week of connection and collaboration across the Pacific Northwest helps shape Seattle’s Climate Action Plan

UW is ranked third in most-cited climate science institutions

The University of Washington is the third most highly cited organization in Carbon Brief’s ranking, with a score of 662,032.

Its main divisions centered on climate change include the Program on Climate Change, the Climate Impacts Group, and the Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science. 

What a ‘very strong’ El Niño could mean for WA

There is a 63% chance that a very strong El Niño will develop by this upcoming winter. Previous El Niño tend to bring warmer and drier winters, but there are only a few of these very strong El Niño events in the historical record available for comparison. Deputy State Climatologist Karin Bumbaco is quoted.  

WA’s snowpack zapped as drought looms, reservoirs sink

Reservoir storage has begun to decline earlier than normal due to warm spring conditions and a lack of mountain snowpack. Early snowmelt means that reservoir storage will need to provide water over a longer portion of the year. Karin Bumbaco is quoted.