20th Annual Oregon-Washington Water Year 2026 Recap and 2027 Outlook Meeting

The 20th annual Oregon-Washington Water Year 2026 Recap and 2027 Outlook Meeting will be held as two virtual morning meetings on November 2 and 3, 2026, from 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. PT. There is no cost to attend, but you are required to register. 

The goal of this meeting is to share and gather information regarding climate impacts of the 2026 Water Year. December flooding, lack of winter snowpack, drought development, and the above average wildfire season will be topics of discussion. This meeting will also offer the opportunity to learn from others about mitigation actions that were taken through group discussion. Forecast experts will provide expectations for 2027, including discussion of what the very strong El Niño in the tropical Pacific means for the region. 

An end-of-water year survey will be available soon for participants (and others) to record impacts and actions taken to minimize those impacts, which will also be discussed during the workshop. Both the survey and the workshop will help inform an annual Pacific Northwest Water Year Impacts Assessment.

We encourage participation from a wide range of sectors, including utilities, agriculture, and forestry. A detailed agenda will be available soon. 

• Day 1 will feature a recap of the weather and seasonal climate of Water Year 2026, a panel on sector-specific impacts and response actions, and breakout group discussions of sector-specific impacts. 
• Day 2 will feature a series of presentations on drought monitoring and resilience, a 2026 streamflow forecast retrospective, and the 2026-27 climate outlook.

This event is hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, the Washington State Climate Office, and Oregon State University’s Oregon Climate Service with planning committee participation from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Water Resources Program, the Oregon Water Resources Department, the USDA Northwest Climate Hub, and the Washington Department of Ecology.