A climate change analysis conducted by the University of Washington that used the results of 20 different climate models projected that by 2080 there would be a 75 percent loss of snowpack in the upper Nisqually watershed.   Alan Hamlet from the University of Washington explained that by the 2040’s the models also predicted a 20 percent higher chance of a 100 year flood event than historical conditions. 

The hydrologic patterns in the watershed due to climate change are  predicted to be a shift towards more runoff in the winter and the loss of flow in the summer months due to reduced summer precipitation and the loss of the snowpack.