Hotter and drier climate "normals" are here

Hotter and drier summers seem to be the trend in climate changes locally as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released the new U.S. Climate Normals for 1991-2020.

The NOAA is part of the Department of Commerce and updates the climate normals every 10 years using a 30-year range of data. Comparing the 1991-2020 data to the previous 1981-2010 data shows that the Spokane area, like much of the western U.S., is experiencing hotter and drier summers.

Including here. "Vegetation dries out sooner, longer and more severe fire season, reduced water levels in reservoirs, less precipitation in spring months," observed one reader responding to an online Star survey in which a large majority of people responding said they'd noticed the changes.

The normal annual temperature for the Spokane area has gone up from 48.1 degrees Fahrenheit in the 1981-2010 data to 48.7 degrees in the 1991-2020 data, while the summer, June through August months show an increase in averages from 67.1 to 67.8 degrees.

Annual precipitation has ticked down on average from 16.56 inches per year from 1981-2010, to 16.45 inches per year from 1991-2020, a drop of 0.11 inches per year.

From June through August, that drop in average precipitation is more pronounced, with the average going from 2.48 inches to 2.06, a drop of 0.42 inches of rain.

However, an increase in average precipitation is reported for December through February from 5.42 inches from 1981-2010, to 5.75 inches from 1991-2020. For March through May it increased from 4.51 to 4.63 inches, despite 2021's low rainfall for April and May.

The combination of hotter and drier summers can mean more wildfires.

"Fire danger is rising in Washington due to dry and warming weather conditions, and gusty winds that can spread a wildfire quickly through dry grasses and forests," the state's Department of Natural Resources said in an April news release.

A June 4 press release from the Colville Tribes explains that "The Colville Tribes has, tragically, been disproportionately impacted by climate-related increases in wildfire frequency and severity," with over 765,000 acres burning across the reservation since 2001, and 537,000 of those acres burning since 2015.

The Colvilles are working with Gov. Jay Inslee to implement the Climate Commitment Act he recently signed into Washington state law.

"Rising temperatures have also negatively impacted fisheries and forest health across the Colville Reservation," the release continues, saying that "in 2015 an estimated 85% of the sockeye run in the Okanogan River failed to reach their spawning habitat due to elevated water temperatures."

Rain and agriculture

Lack of rainfall is "the talk of the farming community," according to Ryan Higginbotham, manager of seed and special services at Highline Grain which is based in Waterville and operates in eight counties across Eastern Washington along the highway 2 corridor from Wenatchee to Spokane.

"We are historically dry," he said, but "even though there is a lack of rain, [the crops] don't look as bad as I thought they might at this point. We are expecting some reduced yields in most of the regions we operate."

Despite precipitation being below normal, the bureau's Columbia Basin Project is running smoothly.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Public Affairs Specialist Erika A. Lopez told The Star in an email that the Columbia River basin above Grand Coulee has 79% of its normal precipitation in this water year from Oct. 1 to May 19, according to the Northwest River Forecast Center compared to averages from the 1981-2010 NOAA data.

Water for nearly 700,000 acres of farmland is pumped into Banks Lake where it is stored for irrigation.

"Weather patterns affecting moisture accumulation in the Columbia Basin Project soil is minimal, even during times of abnormal precipitation," she said. "Water usage by farmers has decreased over the years with the development of modern watering technologies such as circle irrigation, GPS tracking, proper crop rotation, and soil moisture monitoring. Farmers are one of our biggest conservationists when it comes to water usage. As they embrace new technologies and methods, it allows for more precise water placement, which requires less water."

Locals share their

climate observations

An online poll conducted by The Star asked respondents if they had noticed climate changes in their lives, specifically in the Coulee, and what they have observed.

The poll received 19 responses, with 16 saying they have noticed changes, and only three saying they had not.

Out of the 16 who said they have noticed changes, five have lived in the Coulee area 19 years or less, six have lived in the Coulee area 20-39 years, and six have lived here for 40-59 years.

Four of those respondents are between ages 20 and 39, nine are between ages 40 and 59, and three are between ages 60 and 79.

One respondent said they observed "dryer springs and summer's because not enough rain or snow fall."

Several respondents noted similar observations of less snow and mild winters, and drier summers, with some of these responses included below.

• I remember Banks Lake freezing over every year in the 80s and early 90s, enough to go skating at Coulee Playland. The last 15 to 20 years, the lake hasn't frozen over in that area."

• The winters are getting milder, we have had hardly any rain this spring, the fire seasons are getting worse, and the sun is feeling more intense

• Winters use to have more snow and a bit colder. Summers seem hotter and fire seasons are much worse

• Less snow. First snow later in the year.

• In the Coulee area: Less rainfall and snow accumulation. Warmer weather earlier in spring/ summer.

• There use to be deep snow from October til April.... the summers are a lot warmer.... there is no more rain in the spring.

• Vegetation dries out sooner, longer and more severe fire season, reduced water levels in reservoirs, less precipitation in spring months.