Washington Climate
Top 5 Cities: Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver, and Bellevue
This month in numbers
Washington experienced its 15th warmest March on record, with an average temperature of 5.28°C, an anomaly of +1.5°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline. The first three months of 2026 collectively ranked as the 8th warmest January–March period on record, with an average temperature of 3.07°C, an anomaly of +1.8°C. Globally, April 2026 saw the second warmest land temperature on record, with an anomaly of +1.1°C.
What changed
The January–March 2026 period in Washington was significantly warmer than average, continuing a trend of elevated temperatures. This region's 3-month anomaly of +1.8°C places it 102nd out of 234 regions globally for warmth. The state also saw a notable concentration of extreme weather events, with two drought events and one flood event recorded in the past 12 months, all occurring recently. These recent events represent 100% of the annual total for both drought and flood, indicating an unusual concentration for the region. More information can be found on the Extreme Weather tracker tracker.
What’s driving change?
The warmer conditions in Washington are influenced by a combination of factors. The current ENSO state is Neutral, with an anomaly of +0.11°C for February–April 2026. However, there is a strong forecast for a transition to El Niño conditions, with a 61% chance by May–July 2026 and increasing to 87% by July–September 2026. El Niño typically brings warmer, drier conditions to the Pacific Northwest. This aligns with the observed "" where winters are warming faster at high latitudes. Additionally, the state experienced multiple flood events in March 2026, with King County's Flood Warning Center activating multiple times due to heavy rainfall and rising river levels, including the Snoqualmie and Tolt rivers reaching Phase 3 flood stages. An atmospheric river stalled over Washington in mid-March, bringing significant precipitation and accelerating snowmelt, further contributing to flood risks. Despite recent precipitation, a statewide drought emergency was declared on April 8, 2026, due to low snowpack and multi-year precipitation deficits, marking the fourth consecutive year of drought for at least a portion of Washington. This "snow drought" is a result of warm winter temperatures causing precipitation to fall as rain instead of snow.
Looking ahead
The NOAA CPC forecast suggests an increased likelihood of warmer than normal summer conditions, especially across western Washington, with El Niño conditions expected to become dominant by late summer and autumn, potentially leading to another dry winter.
Sources:
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for Washington
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) — see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in Washington changing?
Washington is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for Washington come from?
Climate data for Washington comes from NOAA Climate at a Glance (temperature and precipitation), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the Washington climate data cover?
The Washington climate profile covers Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver and surrounding areas. Washington climate data from NOAA Climate at a Glance
How often is the Washington climate update refreshed?
The Washington climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.