All maps in this category depict temperature change projections for Snohomish County using two of IPCC’s 2013 future greenhouse gas emissions scenarios: low (RCP 4.5) and high (RCP 8.5), and for two time periods: 1) 2050s (2040-2069) and 2) 2080s (2070-2099). The University of Washington Climate Impacts Group generated these projections through downscaling of 10 global climate models (GCMs). Global climate models are developed by the United National Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to represent the global processes controlling the Earth’s climate. Each model is unique and simulates the earth’s climate using different sets of approaches. For a given greenhouse gas scenario (e.g., RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5), the range among climate projections encompasses both the range due to different climate models and natural variability.

Each 1/16th degree grid cell in the map displays the average projected -value among 10 GCMs. Because the models are average, the values in the map therefore does not represent the full range of global climate model outputs for that area. Please see the climate projection summaries in the CIMPACT-DST tool to view the full range of projected values for the Pacific Northwest region.

Source: State of Knowledge: Climate Change in Puget Sound (Mauger et al., 2015); Integrated Scenarios of the Future Northwest Climate (Mote et al., 2015)