With an increase in air temperature, there is likely to be changes in precipitation patterns as well as the amount of precipitable atmospheric water. With warming, many areas that historically received precipitation in the form of snowfall will see rainfall instead, leading to a reduced snow-pack area and changes to the local and regional hydrology.
Many climate models project increased winter precipitation and decreased summer precipitation throughout the Pacific Northwest with the potential for more extreme precipitation event, although there is more uncertainty than in the temperature projections.
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