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Old 06-17-2021, 11:07 PM
 
Location: Twin Falls, ID
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Is climate change and drought drying up the green PNW and making it start turning a little bit more crispy and brown?
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Old 06-17-2021, 11:18 PM
 
Location: Portal to the Pacific
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No. We're expected to actually have more rainfall, on average. What will be different is our summer will be longer, warmer and thus drier, but we're to have more rain during the rainy season. Less snowpack because our average temperatures will gradually rise. Less snowpack and earlier summer drying could mean more fuels for wildfires. There is still a big debate if we'll have increased wildfires because of climate change. Cliff Mass, U of Wash professor, says no to this, and he provides evidence, but there are other researchers that don't agree with him and use a different assemble of data. Also like two years earlier he said towards the middle of last summer that we weren't going to have any smoke, and haha, in September we found out how that story ended ...

Summers from here to basically Bismarck ND are crispy and brown.
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Old 06-18-2021, 09:47 AM
 
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No, it's actually gotten wetter and the new averages that came out earlier this year supports that. I believe most the country has gotten wetter apart from the SW.
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Old 06-18-2021, 10:46 AM
 
Location: Northwest Peninsula
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Quote:
Originally Posted by papad622 View Post
Is climate change and drought drying up the green PNW and making it start turning a little bit more crispy and brown?
Depends where in the PNW you are talking about? But not on the Olympic Peninsula. Its been raining most of the week and keeping it mostly green. Our Olympic mountains still have snow on them at low elevations.
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Old 06-18-2021, 11:05 AM
 
17,527 posts, read 12,504,752 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fluffydelusions View Post
No, it's actually gotten wetter and the new averages that came out earlier this year supports that. I believe most the country has gotten wetter apart from the SW.
Most of the PNW is in drought. Some large parts are in severe, extreme, and even exceptional drought this year.
https://www.drought.gov/drought-stat...ific-northwest

Just part of the peninsula, the cascade range, and parts of Idaho are not.
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Old 06-18-2021, 11:55 AM
 
Location: Rochester, WA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by notnamed View Post
Most of the PNW is in drought. Some large parts are in severe, extreme, and even exceptional drought this year.
https://www.drought.gov/drought-stat...ific-northwest

Just part of the peninsula, the cascade range, and parts of Idaho are not.
WAS in "drought", a month ago. Now I think, with few very heavy storms, we're at or above normal in all the important measures, including snow pack and reservoirs.

https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2021/...hrough-us.html

I think the definition of drought is being abused a bit. Fluctuations in precipitation are part of normal.

And as others said, global warming will be far more likely to bring us MORE rain, not less.
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Old 06-18-2021, 12:10 PM
 
Location: Portal to the Pacific
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Quote:
Originally Posted by notnamed View Post
Most of the PNW is in drought. Some large parts are in severe, extreme, and even exceptional drought this year.
[url]https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates/drought-status-update-pacific-northwest[/url]

Just part of the peninsula, the cascade range, and parts of Idaho are not.
That's true. I thought the OP's question was more about our climate in general. Unlike the SW (Nevada, California, Arizona etc), my understanding is that the distribution of rain (throughout the year) will be affected, but that we won't get less of it. The SW part of the country is predicted to continue to struggle with drought without winter rain reprieves.
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Old 06-18-2021, 12:17 PM
 
17,527 posts, read 12,504,752 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook View Post
WAS in "drought", a month ago. Now I think, with few very heavy storms, we're at or above normal in all the important measures, including snow pack and reservoirs.

https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2021/...hrough-us.html

I think the definition of drought is being abused a bit. Fluctuations in precipitation are part of normal.

And as others said, global warming will be far more likely to bring us MORE rain, not less.
No, still in drought. The recent rain has not been enough to make up the shortfall.
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Old 06-18-2021, 04:03 PM
 
Location: Rochester, WA
14,859 posts, read 12,506,272 times
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Again, it's wet, green and lush outside my door, you can HEAR the grass growing, and most rivers, reservoirs and the snow pack is at or above normal.

https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2021/...r-weekend.html

You have to really stretch the definition of the word drought, to call this a drought.

But then... I'm an optimist.
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Old 06-18-2021, 06:56 PM
 
17,527 posts, read 12,504,752 times
Reputation: 17430
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook View Post
Again, it's wet, green and lush outside my door, you can HEAR the grass growing, and most rivers, reservoirs and the snow pack is at or above normal.

https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2021/...r-weekend.html

You have to really stretch the definition of the word drought, to call this a drought.

But then... I'm an optimist.
I’m sure it is, your mistake is just projecting that to the entire PNW.
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