North Coast and Cascades Network climate monitoring report: Olympic National Park; water year 2016

Baccus, William

Climate and weather events define the ecological characteristics found in national parks and are key to understanding and interpreting changes in natural resources. Everyday park operations including fire management, search and rescue, maintenance of park infrastructure, and visitor use are influenced by weather. Collecting weather data and maintaining climate records provide essential information needed to support park operations and to monitor park resources. This report summarizes climate data collected in Olympic National Park during the 2016 water year, and is part of a set of climate summary reports from national and historical parks in the North Coast and Cascades Network. Published in the National Park Service’s Natural Resource Data Series, annual climate summary reports are intended to summarize the year’s weather in a timely manner, with minimal interpretation and analyses. We intend that the primary audience for this document will be National Park staff, especially decision makers, planners, and interpreters; partners; and interested public. Temperature and precipitation data are presented from 11 weather stations ranging in location from coastal to high elevation sites in the mountainous core of the Olympics. Data were recorded using automated instruments operated by the National Park Service and collaborators, including the National Weather Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. For two stations with long term records, monthly average temperatures and monthly total precipitation are reported and compared to the 30-year normal (1981 to 2010). These two stations span a significant climate gradient, with the Quillayute Airport representing wet, west side conditions and the Elwha Ranger Station representing the drier, northern portions of the Park. Monthly snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE) are reported and compared to the 30-year normal for two Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) stations and three snow courses within the Park. A summary is provided to describe any significant weather events during the water year and how these may have affected park resources. In Water Year 2016, the two weather stations with long term records were 2.5 and 2.0° F above normal. This continued a trend of warmer than normal temperatures extending back to the spring of 2014. Annual precipitation was slightly above normal, resulting from a profoundly wet winter season followed by two extremely dry periods, one in late spring, and one in late summer. The wet winter was the result of a steady series of warm and wet storm systems which led to widespread river flooding, landslides and damage to several park roads and trails. While the winter was warmer than normal, several months of near normal temperatures in the mountains, combined with this heavy precipitation to create a slightly above normal snowpack in the Olympic Mountains. A warm dry spring, however, led to the early melt of this snowpack. A second dry period in late summer, combined with warm temperatures to allow the spread of several major forest fires within the Park during the month of August.

North Coast and Cascades Network climate monitoring report: Olympic National Park; water year 2016

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