Media reporting of drought in the Northwest

Tracking media representation of the Northwest’s drought over the past water year Erica Fleishman Over the past 20 years, the incidence, extent, and severity of drought increased in both the western United States in general and the Northwest in particular compared with twentieth century averages. For example, from 2000 through 2020, an average of 37%…

Water Year Update: March 2021

Hydrologist Bart Nijssen and climatologist John Abatzoglou report on the 2021 water year, and use the Climate Toolbox to tell the story Bart Nijssen and John Abatzoglou Daylight hours are increasing rapidly and the end of winter is in sight. So it is an ideal time to do a quick recap of the water year…

Recruiting Stakeholders to Improve Drought-Impact Indicators in the Northwest

CIRC scientists are seeking natural resource management, tourism, and recreation stakeholders for a new project to develop drought-impact indicators Bart Nijssen, John Abatzoglou, and Katherine Hegewisch If you are interested in participating in the below project, please contact one of us for more information: Bart Nijssen (nijssen@uw.edu), John Abatzoglou (jabatzoglou@ucmerced.edu), or Katherine Hegewisch (khegewisch@ucmerced.edu). Regular…

Historic Droughts and Fires: A Recap of the 2020 Water Year in Oregon and Washington and the 2021 Outlook

The year 2020 has been exceptional in many ways, and that extends to the water year (1 October 2019 – 30 September 2020). On October 28 and 29, scientists, resource managers, and planners convened virtually for the Water Year 2020 Recap and 2021 Outlook meeting. This highly collaborative event was sponsored by the National Integrated…

Oregon is in Drought—Here’s How We Got There

Guest blogger Oregon State Climatologist Larry O’Neill describes Oregon’s drought.