Whatcom is avoiding the West’s drought. That’s good, except for this one key thing
Whatcom County and the rest of Western Washington are avoiding the extended drought that’s parching much of the West, but wildfires caused by scorching summer heat could choke the skies again this summer.
Snowpack on the west slopes of the North Cascades is at 96% of normal, a good sign for the Nooksack River basin after a below-normal rain and snow season so far in 2022.
But the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that 74% of the Pacific Northwest is in drought, and 18% is in extreme or exceptional drought, said Britt A. Parker, a spokeswoman for NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System, at a news conference about drought conditions Thursday, March 3.
That could mean smoky skies for Western Washington, including Bellingham and Whatcom County, said Karin Bumbaco, assistant Washington state climatologist.
“If Oregon or Idaho has a bad wildfire season, then we could get impacted by their smoke. We’ve seen that in recent years,” Bumbaco said at the media briefing.
Whatcom County skies have been fouled by wildfire smoke from California, Oregon, Eastern Washington and British Columbia since 2017.
Nick Bond, the Washington state climatologist, told The Bellingham Herald in an interview that west winds off the Pacific Ocean generally keep Western Washington cooler and free of smoke in summer.
“There are times when the westerlies lay down and we get smoke from Northern California and British Columbia. And sometimes from Eastern Washington,” Bond said.
“Some parts of the Northwest to our south are poised for a big fire season. If they get a big fire season, it’ll just be the luck of the draw that we get smoke delivered to places like Seattle and Bellingham,” he said.
British Columbia isn’t suffering as badly as the southern U.S. West Coast and the Intermountain West and likely won’t see devastating fires this year, he said.
“I think they should be OK shape as long as the spring isn’t as warm and dry as it has been in past years, he said.
All indications from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center are for a cool, wet spring for Western Washington and possibly for British Columbia.
“Here’s hoping we don’t have a brutal summer,” Bond said. “There will be wildfires. We just hope the Westerlies will keep away the smoke. Fingers and toes crossed.”
