Washington snowpack already mostly melted heading into heat wave

KING 5 Seattle
KING 5 Seattle
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Published 2024-07-08
High temperatures across Washington will contribute to fire danger, elevate temperatures in streams and have an impact on wildlife, but they won't likely play a major role in melting snowpack because so much of it is already gone by this time of year.

"Most of the snowpack has melted off at this point," said Karin Bumbaco, the deputy state climatologist at the University of Washington. "We're in July, and most of that has melted through June, even earlier than expected, about one to two weeks earlier than normal because it was below normal snowpack, but we're still seeing some at early elevation sites."

READ MORE: www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/sno…
All Comments (8)
  • @cmdrls212
    Only a matter of time before a camper sets the cascades on fire in the name of ambience.
  • @davidmickles5012
    Ive been hear for 35 years. The snow this past winter was a bit low yes, BUT the Spring was COOLER than normal and so the snow hung around LONGER (did not melt as fast) than many of the years I spent hiking in the mountains here. To sum up, this year was NOT unique, different, scary, or unusual. The seasonal variations the past 12 months are within the norm. Also, we are not "in a drought" despite what the state wants to claim. We have wetter cycles and we have drier cycles, and this has been going on for hundreds of thousands of years.
  • @danielking104
    Last year we were trying to breath with wild fire smoke. Chill.
  • @AshleySpeaks4U
    I left because I got sick of the rain over there. In Spokane, it is in the hundreds now.