The North Olympic Peninsula is heating up and drying out, long-term weather observations show.
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center will update its 30-year “normals” for temperature and precipitation Aug. 1.
When that happens, Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Forks will see a slight increase in average temperature and annual rainfall measurements.
While the data aren’t perfect — meteorologists rely on volunteers to collect weather data on the Peninsula — the National Weather Service provided “unofficial” 30-year normals for the three cities that show a consistent warming and drying trend.
“I would say these numbers are going up,” said Johnny Burg, a metrologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.
He added: “I’m not a climate specialist. We do seven-day forecasts.”
The current 30-year averages were taken from 1971 through 2000. On Aug. 1, the normals will bump up a decade, from 1981 through 2010.
“It’s best to wait until the correct numbers come out,” said Burg, who sifted through unorganized long-term weather observations for the North Olympic Peninsula on Friday.
The National Climatic Data Center will post the new 30-year averages online next month.
Burg found that in Port Townsend the 1971-2000 normal temperate was 51.1 degrees and the average annual precipitation was 19.42 inches.
When you toss in the last decade, the average temperature rises to 51.8 degrees and the yearly precipitation drops to 19.04 inches.
In Port Angeles, the 1971-2000 normals were 49.8 degrees and 25.72 inches of annual rainfall. The new normals for Port Angeles will be 49.9 degrees and 25.20 inches of precipitation.
Forks’ old normals were 49.4 degrees and 121.73 inches of rain. The 1981-2010 normals will be 50.2 degrees and 119.72 inches of annual precipitation, Burg said.
The trend was slightly different in Seattle.
The Seattle Times reported Friday that the new 30-year average at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport raises the normal temperatures from 59.8 degrees to 60.3 degrees.
But unlike the Peninsula, Seattle’s average annual precipitation increased — from 37.07 inches to 37.49 inches per year.
Burg pointed out that 30-year averages can be skewed by La Niñas, which western Washington experienced in the 1970s, and other short-term weather phenomenon.
La Niñas are associated with cooler temperatures, and the new normals will throw out the 1970s, Burg said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com
