Historic Climate Change, Climate Variability, and Streamflow Trends in Kittitas and King Counties

Document Type

Oral Presentation

Event Website

https://source2022.sched.com/

Start Date

19-5-2022

End Date

19-5-2022

Keywords

climate change, water resources, resource management

Abstract

Anthropogenic climate change is projected to increase throughout the 21st century. These increases will impact communities around the globe, so determining potential rates of temperature and precipitation change in these areas is an important task. However, most climate change studies are done at global/regional levels rather than county/municipality levels. This can create issues in areas like the Pacific Northwest, which has a high amount of topographic and climate variability within the region. For example, it is unclear how shifting snowfall trends in much of the Cascade Range will impact snowpack losses, streamflow, and water availability in local communities. This research examines historic direction and rates of climate change in Kittitas and King counties, Washington. Historic climate data has been gathered from five climate stations, two in each county and one on Stampede Pass, for the past 120 years. An analysis and visualization of these data, combined with historic streamflow data, are making it possible to evaluate county-level temperature and precipitation trends and assess their impact on current and future water availability in these counties. Preliminary results comparing climate normals at each of the climate stations show changes in average monthly maximum temperature of anywhere from -2.1 to 3.5°F, with the most drastic changes occurring at Stampede Pass. These results will be compared with wider PNW and global climate trends, both past and projected, to determine patterns in climate variability at different spatial scales.

Faculty Mentor(s)

Megan Walsh, Mike Pease

Department/Program

Cultural & Environmental Resource Management

Additional Mentoring Department

Geography

Additional Mentoring Department

Cultural & Environmental Resource Management

Additional Mentoring Department

Graduate Studies

Streaming Media

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May 19th, 12:00 AM May 19th, 12:00 AM

Historic Climate Change, Climate Variability, and Streamflow Trends in Kittitas and King Counties

Anthropogenic climate change is projected to increase throughout the 21st century. These increases will impact communities around the globe, so determining potential rates of temperature and precipitation change in these areas is an important task. However, most climate change studies are done at global/regional levels rather than county/municipality levels. This can create issues in areas like the Pacific Northwest, which has a high amount of topographic and climate variability within the region. For example, it is unclear how shifting snowfall trends in much of the Cascade Range will impact snowpack losses, streamflow, and water availability in local communities. This research examines historic direction and rates of climate change in Kittitas and King counties, Washington. Historic climate data has been gathered from five climate stations, two in each county and one on Stampede Pass, for the past 120 years. An analysis and visualization of these data, combined with historic streamflow data, are making it possible to evaluate county-level temperature and precipitation trends and assess their impact on current and future water availability in these counties. Preliminary results comparing climate normals at each of the climate stations show changes in average monthly maximum temperature of anywhere from -2.1 to 3.5°F, with the most drastic changes occurring at Stampede Pass. These results will be compared with wider PNW and global climate trends, both past and projected, to determine patterns in climate variability at different spatial scales.

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2022/COTS/28