Climate Impacts Group

New NW CASC Webinar Series: Practical Frameworks for Collaborative Climate Adaptation Research

Register today for the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center’s upcoming webinar series, “Practical Frameworks for Collaborative Climate Adaptation Research,” featuring content from three new papers that provide useful recommendations for more equitable and effective research collaborations. 

Big Northwest floods a ‘dress rehearsal’ for a hotter climate

This week’s intense rainfall and flooding in northwestern Washington state and British Columbia offer a glimpse into the future, climate scientists say. Guillaume Mauger and Meade Krosby are quoted.

“We’re going to see events like this happen more frequently and we’re going to see events that are bigger than this one – a higher likelihood of bigger events.” – Guillaume Mauger 

CIG Director Amy Snover to present at Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference

Dr. Amy Snover will present her talk, “Facing Climate Change in Cascadia,” at the Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference Wednesday, November 17 at 10:25 a.m. The conference, held over two days on November 16 and 17, will bring together business, academic and government leaders from the B.C. region and Washington and Oregon States. United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, British Columbia’s Premier John Horgan and Washington State Governor Jay Inslee are among the list of speakers. This year, the annual conference will be held in-person in Vancouver, B.C. with the option to attend-online.

Event details: 

Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference
Tuesday, November 16, noon-6 p.m. 

How one Northwest tribe aims to keep its cool as its glaciers melt

Record-breaking heat took a heavy toll on the Northwest this summer, from beaches to cities to mountaintops. In the Washington Cascades, some glaciers lost an unprecedented 8% to 10% of their ice in a single hot season. Harriet Morgan is quoted.

“Our snowpack basically serves as nature’s water bottle. It allows us to store water when we have too much of it, in the winter, and then it provides us this nice reservoir in the summer when we’re not getting that summer precipitation.” – Harriet Morgan 

Northwest glaciers are melting. What that means to Indigenous ‘salmon people’

Up and down the I-5 corridor, people noticed something odd when they looked to the east this summer: bare rock where snow and ice should be. Research from the UW Climate Impacts Group is mentioned.

The Rising Pacific Forces a Native Village to Move. Who Will Pay?

Washington’s Quinault Nation wants to rebuild on higher ground, but $150 million is hard to find. The UW Climate Impacts Group is referenced.  

WA’s frontline communities face the brunt of climate change

Climate preparedness planning must be guided by those who face the most acute risks. A conversation with CIG Director Amy Snover is referenced in this Op-Ed from Crosscut. 

Nooksack Tribe and partners face up to climate change challenge on South Fork Nooksack River

The Nooksack Tribe is developing a climate adaptation implementation plan. Harriet Morgan is quoted.

“How do we actually get from all of these strategies … to action actually happening in the watershed? [The implementation plan] is taking it from paper to where the rubber meets the road.” – Harriet Morgan 

Clearing the air

Amy Snover, director of the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group, discusses how to talk publicly about—and more importantly, act upon—climate change.  

Register: Ore.-Wash. Water Year 2021 Recap & Outlook Meeting

The Oregon-Washington Water Year 2021 Recap & 2022 Outlook Meeting will be held as two virtual meetings on the mornings of November 16 and 17. This annual water year meeting is an opportunity to review climate-related impacts of the previous water year and learn about the forecast for the upcoming water year.

In addition to hearing from the forecast experts, both days will include time for discussion and peer-to-peer learning. We encourage participation from a wide range of sectors including utilities, agriculture and forestry.

Register       View agenda 

Day 1: Tuesday, November 16, 2021 9 a.m.–12:15 p.m. PT

The first day will feature a recap of the 2021 water year with a focus on the extreme drought and June heat wave.