Washington State Climate Office

@wastateclimate.bsky.social

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Official Washington State Climate Office at the University of Washington account. Visit our website: https://climate.uw.edu/

U.S. Drought Monitor as of August 4th, 2026.
Summer outlook showing above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation are favored from June-August.
The image is an infographic titled "Water Year 2025 Timeline," featuring a timeline of weather conditions and climate impacts in the Pacific Northwest. At the top left, a purple mountain illustration signifies "Whiplash Winter Conditions," with bullet points describing December's wet conditions boosting snowpack, a dry January hindering snowpack development, and wet February and March causing flooding in Oregon. The timeline is divided into three sections: October-March, April-June, and July-September. On the top right, the October-March section details April 1 snowpack levels as a percentage of normal for Washington (90%), Oregon (136%), and Idaho (108%). Below, the April-June section marks the period as the 4th driest and 10th warmest on record, with a raindrop and thermometer icon. Bullet points describe dry spring conditions leading to accelerated snowmelt and reduced streamflows. The July-September section reports regional drought expansion, with a colored map indicating drought declarations in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The bottom notes continued drought with historically low streamflows.
A photograph of pivot irrigation on dry, drown field near Wyatt, ID.
Graph of statewide SWE over the last water year showing large gains in snowpack over the last few weeks along with and early season melt event. Snowpack remains well below normal despite these late season gains. Source: https://nwcc-apps.sc.egov.usda.gov/awdb/basin-plots/POR/WTEQ/assocHUCwa3/state_of_washington.html
Image preview of the WASCO email newsletter featuring the January 2026 Climate summary and a photo of Mount Rainier.
6-10 Day outlook showing warmer than normal conditions in the beginning of March.
Graph of SWE for the PNW showing 2026 SWE is near SWE levels during the 2015 snow drought.
Image announcing the 2026 Summer Internship Program. The photo reads "Apply your passion and skills towards finding equitable environmental solutions"
Current SWE across Washington sub-basins. Snowpack is largely near or below 50% of normal for this point in the winter.
Map of above normal temperatures in December 2025. Source: Climate Toolbox https://climatetoolbox.org/tool/Climate-Mapper
Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) by basin as of midnight on the night of December 8. SWE is well below normal in the central and southern Cascades and the Olympics.
The change in SWE at SNOTEL stations from midnight on December 7th to midnight on December 8th. Green and yellow values denote little change or even slight losses in SWE.
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/divisional/mapping
Graph of statewide September average temperatures 1895-2025. There is a general warming trend over the time period of around 0.3ºF per decade and September 2025 was the warmest September on record by a decent margin. Source: NCEI https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/statewide/time-series
Photograph of pivot irrigation underway over a dry field with virga overhead. Virga is rainfall that evaporates before it reached the surface, leaving visible streaks or rain shafts in the air.
Table of the longest streaks in SeaTac history.
Scatter plot of September 2025 temperature and precipitation relative to all Septembers back to 1979. Source: https://climatetoolbox.org/tool/historical-climate-scatter
Decorative banner image for the Annual PNW WY Impacts Survey.
Climate Prediction Center October-December Temperature and Precipitation Outlook. Precipitation is most likely to be above normal for this period. Temperatures have equal chances of being below, above, or near-normal.
June-August 2025 precipitation and temperature percentile maps for Washington State, created using ClimateToolbox.org. Darkest brown and red shadings reflect record dry and warm conditions over this period, respectively.
CPC's 6-10 day outlook with above normal temperatures from August 27-31.
A photo of a large sunflower in full bloom with a blue, sunny sky in the background.
Precipitation anomaly for May 2025. Map courtesy of Climate Toolbox.
Table of mean date of last frost and mean date of first 75°F day of the year for stations across Washington. Mean last frost dates range from March 16 at SeaTac Airport to May 11 in Pullman.
National maps of seasonal temperature and precipitation outlooks indicate warmer than normal and drier than normal conditions for the northwestern United States from May-July 2025. Maps courtesy of the Climate Prediction Center.
A photograph depicts a river as it winds around a forested and hilly landscape and serves as the cover image for the Pacific Northwest Water Year 2024 Impacts Assessment.