Climate Impacts Group

‘Tis the season … for king tides around Puget Sound

‘Tis the season for king tides: The highest tides of the year. Extreme high tides are headed to Puget Sound Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning of the last week of December. Dr. Guillaume Mauger is quoted. 

Climate change could make WA streams too hot for fish, report shows

A report led by Crystal Raymond and Jonathan Yoder, Washington State University, is referenced.  

Report: Climate Change could polarize streamflow patterns

For Olympic Peninsula rivers, climate change could exacerbate seasonal lows and highs in streamflow. Dr. Crystal Raymond is quoted. 

“It doesn’t take much warming to raise winter temperatures enough for winter precipitation to fall as rain, rather than snow, and runoff in the winter.” – Crystal Raymond 

Climate assessment finds climate change impacts accelerating 

Crystal Raymond, a research scientist at the UW Climate Impacts Group, highlights the findings of a new federal climate assessment.  

More Floods and Worse Floods’ in the Chehalis Basin: Officials Discuss Potential Effects of Climate Change

The Office of the Chehalis Basin isn’t just preparing for this year’s possible flooding events, but is looking ahead using University of Washington climate change models to see what flooding might look like in the state’s second largest river basin by the end of the century. Climate Impacts Group science is referenced. 

Seattle is very thirsty right now

The Seattle area is thirsty and could really use a nice, cold rainy day. According to the National Weather Service, summer 2022 was the driest on record. Dr. Meade Krosby is quoted via Twitter.

Scientists: Warming climate ‘loads the dice’ for wildfire in west Cascades

Record heat made the Cascades ripe for a fire like Bolt Creek. Dr. Crystal Raymond is quoted. 

“A large wildfire on the west side is a little bit like an earthquake,” Raymond said. “It could be pretty severe. It’s pretty rare. We need to practice for it because we don’t know how it’s going to go down.”  

Bolt Creek fire highlights changing climate, increased wildfire risk in Western WA

Scientists have long warned that climate change would lead to more fires near towns like Index on the west side of the Cascades. And while the Bolt Creek fire is only one example, it could be a harbinger of blazes to come. Dr. Crystal Raymond is quoted in this story for the Seattle Times.  

Red flag fire warning in Cascades

The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for the western slopes of the north and central Cascades until Friday evening. Dr. Crystal Raymond is interviewed in this KING5 story.  

Heat wave serves WA a lesson in climate adaptation, mitigation

For better or worse, this heat wave is forcing Washington to recognize and confront the impacts of climate change. Dr. Meade Krosby is quoted.