Climate Impacts Group

Welcoming two new team members to support NW Climate Resilience Collaborative

We are excited to share progress on the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative, including two new hires to support the program and a newly-launched web presence! The Resilience Collaborative is a program housed at the Climate Impacts Group that brings together 10 community and academic partners and is funded by a grant from NOAA.

Drs. Rishi Sugla and Zackery Thill joined the Climate Impacts Group earlier this month, and will be primarily focused on supporting the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative. Sugla will bring thought leadership and coordination to the Resilience Collaborative as he advances the theory and practice of climate services provision to frontline communities. 

New NW CASC Report Outlines Research and Coordination Needs for Managing Northwest Stream Permanence in a Changing Climate

The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center’s 2021 Deep Dive convened Northwest communities, natural resource managers and scientists to collaboratively review what is known about stream permanence and and how it affects people and places in the region: a new report, accompanied by a key findings document and a list of tools and resources – outlines results from this collaborative process, including research and capacity needs for understanding and responding to changes in stream permanence. 

Famously soggy Seattle sees its wettest fall on record

Seattle, a city known for soggy weather, has seen its wettest fall on record. The National Weather Service says 19.04 inches (48.4 centimeters) of rain fell between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, breaking a record set in 2006. Meade Krosby is quoted. This story from the Associated Press also ran in the Washington Post, The Register Citizen and Rome Daily Sentinel. 

“We know that climate change makes those kinds of extreme events both more likely to happen and more severe.” – Meade Krosby  

Workshop with authors of the National Climate Assessment (including CIG scientists!)

You’re invited to share your thoughts on the climate change-related issues most important to you and the Northwest region at the National Climate Assessment: Northwest Chapter Engagement Workshop on February 1, 2022! This virtual session will be led by the authors of the Northwest chapter of the Fifth National Climate Change Assessment, including two Climate Impacts Group scientists. Discussions in the workshop will help shape the topics addressed in the Assessment, and provide the authors with ideas of how the Assessment could be more useful for decision-making. 

Event details:

National Climate Assessment: Northwest Chapter Engagement Workshop

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

9:30 a.m.–2 p.m. 

New Chapter for CIG Researcher Harriet Morgan  

After seven years with the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, Harriet Morgan is leaving to start a new chapter as the Climate Coordinator for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). In her new role, Harriet will be collaborating with internal and external partners to facilitate the development and implementation of a coordinated agency response to the impacts of climate change. This includes building off the agency’s recently developed report ‘Preparing Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for a Changing Climate: Assessing Risks and Opportunities for Action.’

As a Research Scientist with the Climate Impacts Group, Harriet has been involved in many facets of climate resiliency across the region—from planning to implementation. 

With climate models predicting less snow, local ski areas look to adapt

Climate modeling suggests that the region’s snowpack is only going to decline. Ski resort managers and owners are aware of this possibility and are doing what they can to proactively adapt. Amy Snover is quoted.  

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