Climate Impacts Group

Preparations underway for Washington’s fire season

The Washington Department of Natural Resources expects a more “normal” season than last year but is still readying additional resources. CIG Scientist Dr. Crystal Raymond is quoted. 

Scenic Tacoma road permanently closed to cars. Blame climate change.

Crumbling cliffs have led Metro Parks Tacoma to permanently close two miles of Five Mile Drive, a popular park road built atop the bluffs of Tacoma’s Point Defiance 109 years ago. City officials are blaming climate change for the worsening erosion of a 150-foot-tall sea bluff that frames the Point Defiance peninsula as it juts into Puget Sound. Dr. Guillaume Mauger is quoted.  

How climate change will impact recreation in the Pacific Northwest

As the seasons change in Washington state from winter to spring, you can almost hear the collective cheers at the promise of warmer weather and sunnier days. For some, though, this time of year also marks the dreaded end of winter fun, as snow starts melting on the Pacific Northwest’s tallest peaks. But how will climate change affect outdoor recreation, not only during these transitional periods but throughout the year? And what can we expect in the coming years and decades? Dr. Amy Snover is quoted.

“The future isn’t written, meaning we don’t know exactly what will happen. We have already set some climate change impacts in motion, but how bad it is on the ground here in the Northwest depends on how quickly we act to reverse it.” 

– Dr. 

Seattle-area Nordic skier on her way to Beijing Paralympics

Fellow nurses train together in the Methow Valley, leading one of them to compete in the games. Climate Impacts Group research on snowpack is and snowmelt is referenced. 

What new projections of sea level rise mean for Puget Sound and the WA coast

Sea level rise will affect each area of the planet in a unique way, but new projections are helping researchers and lawmakers in Washington state identify which coastal communities are most vulnerable. Dr. Guillaume Mauger is quoted. 

“Even if we could magically turn off greenhouse gases tomorrow, we’re kind of stuck with what we’re going to get by 2050. What we see at the end of the century … is strongly dependent on how much we emit between now and then.” – Guillaume Mauger 

‘Easy to melt’: Snowpack in Cascades, Olympics is at serious risk

With warmer and shorter winters, researchers say the state’s snowpack will continue to shrink over the next several decades. Dr. Guillaume Mauger is quoted. This segment also ran in KREM2. 

Trends show decreasing snowfall in the Pacific Northwest, potential impacts to water supply

Annual snowfall in the Pacific Northwest appears to have decreased since the 20th century, part of a larger trend of declining snowfalls in the western United States partially driven by climate change. Matt Rogers and Karin Bumbaco (Office of the Washington State Climatologist) are quoted. 

“What we do in the next several decades by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and also by adapting to how we’re seeing the climate change can really make an impact on how that affects recreation, how that affects people, and whether or not we’re ready for it.” – Matt Rogers  

Weather experts forecast spring temperatures in Lower Columbia area through Sunday

Temperatures in the Lower Columbia area through Sunday are expected to counter the six more weeks of winter predicted on Groundhog Day just last week. Research from the Climate Impacts Group is referenced.  

An unexpected item is blocking cities’ climate change prep: obsolete rainfall records

New sewers and storm drains will need to withstand rainfall that’s becoming more intense in a changing climate. But as cities make plans to tear up streets and pour cement, most have little to no information about how climate change will worsen future storms. Research from the Climate Impacts Group is referenced. 

Local climate change research projects future floods

Projections of future flooding from the Climate Impacts Group are referenced.