Climate Impacts Group

We’re Hiring: Climate Impacts Group Director

We are hiring a Director to plan and lead the activities of the UW Climate Impacts Group. The Director will provide strategic leadership and direction for the Group’s research, education and stakeholder engagement efforts aimed at improving societal and ecological resilience to climate variability and change, and will represent the Climate Impacts Group on a regional and national scale. This position will establish the vision and build support both inside and outside the University of Washington for our efforts to connect science with climate-resilience action through partnership and collaboration. They will broaden and deepen our efforts related to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. 

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. 

New Chapter for Climate Impacts Group Director Amy Snover

Dr. Amy Snover, director of the UW Climate Impacts Group, is retiring on June 15, 2022, having worked for the Climate Impacts Group for more than 20 years and served as the director for nearly a decade. In her time at the Climate Impacts Group, Amy has grown and strengthened our team and programs significantly. Amy led the team in successful applications to host the USGS-funded Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and the NOAA-funded Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative, broadening the scope and reach of our work. She has developed enduring partnerships with policymakers, resource managers, researchers and others across the Northwest and beyond. 

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. 

The Office of the Washington State Climatologist, Climate Impacts Group, and partners release 2021 PNW Water Year Impacts Assessment

The 2021 Pacific Northwest Water Year Impacts Assessment summarizes the water year conditions and related impacts experienced by farmers, water managers, fisheries managers, and other natural resource managers.

ACCESS THE ASSESSMENT

This assessment describes the climate of the water year and related impacts. For several years, researchers, water and resource managers, and organizations working to integrate research and resource management in Oregon and Washington have held a joint Water Year Recap and Outlook meeting. A separate but similar meeting in Idaho is also held each year. In addition to these annual water year meetings, an Annual Pacific Northwest Water Year Impacts Survey is used to collect information on water year impacts for multiple sectors. 

Climate Impacts Group celebrates 25th anniversary with painting (Column)

The Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington is celebrating its 25th anniversary in an innovative and optimistic way — with an original painting. Dr. Amy Snover is quoted. 

“We saw this as an opportunity not only to connect with people in a different way, but also to connect with our work differently. We were interested in seeing what would happen when we asked someone with a different way of looking at the world to communicate our goals for the project.” – Amy Snover  

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