Snowpack Vs. Heatwave – What’s it lookin’ like in WA?

First and foremost, before we dive into stats, how was our 2023-2024 Snowpack for Washington State?

Below normal and melting about two weeks faster than normal according to Karin Bumbaco, the deputy state climatologist at the University of Washington. 

via GIPHY

It this fast melt off, normal?

"This is pretty typical," Bumbaco said. "Paradise at Rainier is one of the sites that has snow for the longest." source

While this heatwave Washington state is experiencing, is expected to go on the remaining of this week, the snowpack is about average in runoff.

How has the snowpack been though, over the years? Any change?

"A map from the EPA shows the trends in April snowpack in the western U.S. from 1955 to 2022. In Washington, most areas’ snowpack is down between 20 to 30%, with some areas decreasing as much as 50 to 60%. " - Source 

This is not good in regard to Wildfires.

Take a look at what WSU has to say:

"In recent decades, reductions in the seasonal snowpack in Washington State have caused earlier runoff and decreased discharge to streams thus affecting the availability of water resources. A consequence of the earlier snowmelt is an increase in wildfire frequency, size, intensity and duration." - Source

Snowpack memories.

You might think, wait, memories? Hear me out. When I was a little girl, my dad always used to say, "you can't go swimming in the river until the snow is off that mountain (referring to Billy Goat Mountain.)

So yes, I guess you could say, I've always had my eyes on the snowpack, for personal swimming purposes of course.