Poor snowpack covers Mt. Hood on a warmer than average day, reaching 56 degrees Fahrenheit, in Portland, Ore., on Feb. 3, 2026.
Eli Imadali / OPB
This past winter tied Oregon’s record for the warmest winter ever recorded. The warmer temperatures have led to record-low snowpack levels not only in Oregon but across many other western states. Climate change will likely make our winters not only warmer but also rainier, as more of the winter precipitation falls as rain instead of snow.
That rain and melting snow are also expected to move faster through our landscape into rivers and streams in the Pacific Northwest through the coming decades, according to a new study led by scientists at Oregon State University. Scientists developed a model that estimates current and future water transit times based on precipitation events in a tributary of the Yakima River. Faster water flows through the landscape could be a variable that water managers may need to consider when planning for the summer months when water demand is greatest.
Zach Butler is a postdoctoral researcher at OSU and the lead author of the study. He joins us for more details.
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