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2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan <br />Kittitas County, Washington <br /> <br /> <br />Chapter 3: Community Profile 22 <br />Figure 3-3. Kittitas County Topographical Map <br /> <br />3.3. CLIMATE <br />Eastern Washington climate is a function of maritime and continental influences. The Yakima River <br />basin’s location is just east of the Cascade crest places it in a rain shadow, with hotter summers, colder <br />winters, a shorter growing season, and less precipitation than areas of similar latitude west of the <br />Cascades. Temperatures generally increase and precipitation generally decreases from northwest to <br />southeast and from high to low elevation.13F <br />14 <br /> <br />Because of the variation in elevation, temperatures greatly vary in the Yakima River basin. In the Kittitas <br />Valley, summers tend to be hot, with wide divergent fluctuations, and mild to severe winters. Data is <br />scarce for higher elevations; however, those areas are generally characterized by cool summers and <br />cold winters. For example, in the Subalpine Fir forest zone, which extends from approximately 2,000 feet <br />to the timberline, average July temperatures in the range of 55ºF to 65ºF can be expected. <br /> <br />As is typical of areas in the lee of large coastal mountain ranges, the Yakima River basin is generally <br />arid. Precipitation varies with elevation and distance from the Cascades, from 150 inches annually at the <br />Cascade crest to 10 inches at the Columbia River. Runoff rates are affected by disparities in precipitation <br /> <br />14 Ibid.