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Pacific Northwest

All articles tagged with #pacific northwest

El Niño strengthens, NOAA predicts a warmer fall for most of the U.S.
weather5 days ago

El Niño strengthens, NOAA predicts a warmer fall for most of the U.S.

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center says fall (Sept–Nov) will be warmer than average for most of the U.S., with the Pacific Northwest likely to be the warmest region as El Niño approaches a “super” strength. The outlook also suggests a wetter winter for parts of the South, drier conditions in the Northeast and West, and potential impacts on Atlantic hurricane activity and coastal flooding; Hawaii is expected to stay warm into fall before a cooler winter.

via Yahoo|
#climate-prediction-center#el-nino#fall-weather-outlook
science11 days ago

Perseid Fireball Dazzles Northwest Sky

A bright fireball lit up the night sky across the Pacific Northwest between 12:45 a.m. and 12:50 a.m. during the Perseid meteor shower, with sightings from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia. Witnesses described an orange or green streak followed by a flash; there is no indication the object reached the ground, and what some heard as an explosion was likely the meteor breaking apart high in the atmosphere. If you saw it, send video to [email protected] for a possible on-air feature.

via MyNorthwest.com|
#fireball#meteor-shower#pacific-northwest
El Niño-Fueled Firestorm: Pacific Northwest Braces for Historic Wildfire Season
environment16 days ago

El Niño-Fueled Firestorm: Pacific Northwest Braces for Historic Wildfire Season

Across Washington and Oregon, roughly 2.9 million acres have burned this year, destroying hundreds of homes as 95 large wildfires blaze across the Pacific Northwest; nationwide, the U.S. has logged about 6.3 million acres burned and more than 45,800 fires, with firefighting resources stretched to the limit. Experts warn that an impending very strong El Niño will likely prolong heat and drought into autumn, keeping fire risk elevated across the West.

via The Guardian|
#climate-change#el-nino#environment
Spokane’s inferno: fires jump the river as thousands evacuate
us-canada18 days ago

Spokane’s inferno: fires jump the river as thousands evacuate

Spokane, Washington faced unprecedented wildfires this summer, forcing about a quarter of the city’s 65,000 residents to evacuate as three large fires burn with under 40% containment. Roughly 900 buildings are believed destroyed, there have been no deaths or major injuries, and authorities have charged a suspect in an arson case connected to the fires while recovery begins amid forecasts of more dry, windy days.

via BBC|
#arson#evacuations#pacific-northwest
Seattle Skirts the Western Heat Dome as Triple‑Digit Heat Spreads Elsewhere
weather24 days ago

Seattle Skirts the Western Heat Dome as Triple‑Digit Heat Spreads Elsewhere

An expansive heat dome bakes much of the western U.S., but Seattle stays cool thanks to a trough off British Columbia, keeping Puget Sound in the 70s with light rain; Eastern Washington faces critical fire-weather due to gusty, dry winds; the heat dome shifts toward California mid‑week, after which a more typical West Coast ridge returns and Seattle warms into the 80s.

via Emerald City Weather Blog|
#heatwave#pacific-northwest#seattle
West Coast Soft-Shell Clams Confront Severe Contagious Cancer Outbreak
science1 month ago

West Coast Soft-Shell Clams Confront Severe Contagious Cancer Outbreak

A PNRI-led study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports a severe outbreak of bivalve transmissible neoplasia in Washington soft-shell clams, with infection prevalence rising from about 45% in Triangle Cove (2022) and 13% in Stanwood to roughly 75% by 2024, making it one of the region’s largest documented outbreaks. The affected clams are non-native to the West Coast, likely introduced from Atlantic populations in the 1870s. Oregon officials say the current risk to their coast is low, and shellfish movements are being tested and monitored by state agencies (WDFW and ODFW).

via Yahoo|
#bivalve-transmissible-neoplasia#outbreak#pacific-northwest
Puget Sound Coyotes Reveal Hidden Tapeworm Threat
health-and-medicine2 months ago

Puget Sound Coyotes Reveal Hidden Tapeworm Threat

Researchers in the Puget Sound region detected the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis in 37% of 100 coyotes, marking the first wild West Coast detection in the contiguous U.S.; the parasite can trigger cancer-like liver cysts in humans and dogs and uses a multi-host life cycle involving canids and rodents. Genetic analysis links a more infectious European-origin strain now circulating in North America; human West Coast cases remain rare, though canine infections have occurred. The study calls for enhanced wildlife surveillance and routine veterinary care to reduce risk.

via ScienceDaily|
#alveolar-echinococcosis#coyotes#echinococcus-multilocularis
Invasive yellow-legged hornet spotted in Pacific Northwest
local-news2 months ago

Invasive yellow-legged hornet spotted in Pacific Northwest

A live yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina) was found April 30 aboard a ship at the Port of Vancouver on the Lower Columbia River and is being monitored after traps were set; experts warn this invasive, more mobile hornet—smaller than the notorious northern giant hornet—could threaten Northwest honeybees and agriculture and might spread coast-to-coast, though no further nests have been found yet.

via Rogue Valley Times|
#honeybees#invasive-species#local-news
Pacific Ocean Observatories Shut Down as NSF Scales Back Ocean Monitoring
science2 months ago

Pacific Ocean Observatories Shut Down as NSF Scales Back Ocean Monitoring

Under NSF's descoping push, four Ocean Observatories Initiative arrays are being dismantled—off the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, North Carolina, and Greenland—with most in-water equipment to be removed by 2027, including Washington’s Coastal Endurance Array already taken out; only Oregon’s Regional Cabled Array remains, prompting concerns about loss of long-term ocean data for science, fisheries, and maritime safety.

via KUOW|
#data-buoys#nsf#ocean-observatories
Rodents in Pacific Northwest harbor more hantavirus than previously thought
health3 months ago

Rodents in Pacific Northwest harbor more hantavirus than previously thought

WSU researchers found that nearly 30% of Palouse-region rodents (deer mice, voles, and chipmunks) carried Sin Nombre hantavirus at some point, with about 10% actively infected, suggesting higher rodent-to-human exposure risk in the Pacific Northwest; SNV is the US hantavirus most linked to disease, transmitted mainly via contaminated rodent excretions, not person-to-person. The work, based on 2023 fieldwork in WA and Idaho and published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, notes occasional cross-species transmission among rodents and that human infections may be underrecognized.

via USA Today|
#hantavirus#health#pacific-northwest
Northwest hantavirus found more commonly in local rodents than thought
health3 months ago

Northwest hantavirus found more commonly in local rodents than thought

A Washington State University-led study in the Palouse region (Washington and Idaho) found Sin Nombre hantavirus in about 30% of tested rodents, with roughly 10% actively infected, suggesting the virus is more widespread in Northwest wildlife than previously known. The team also produced the first full genome sequences of Northwest Sin Nombre strains to aid surveillance, while human infections remain rare; health officials urge precautions when cleaning areas with rodent contamination and researchers hope to expand exposure assessments.

via KOMO|
#deer-mice#hantavirus#health