Ahsha Tribble, Ph.D. Chief, Climate Services Division | NOAA National Weather Service May 20, 2009 Ahsha Tribble, Ph.D. Chief, Climate Services Division | NOAA National Weather Service May 20, 2009 NWS Regional and Local Climate Services

2 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill Overview NOAA’s Goals and Mission NWS Climate Services NWS Regional and Local Perspective Key Regional Partners NWS Regional and Local Climate Services

3 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill NOAA’s Mission

4 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill National Weather Service Climate Services Climate Prediction Center Climate Services Division Regional Headquarters and Local Offices

5 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill NWS Local Delivery Points

6 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill 13 River Forecast Centers (RFCs)

Regional and Local Perspective on NWS Climate Services

8 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill 8 Western Region: Water and Climate Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (RFC) issues forecasts for seasonal snow melt streamflow volumes in the western US:  Collaborative process with other federal agencies (i.e., NRCS)  Prototyping nationwide water resources outlook Combines mountain snow pack, soil moisture, and weather and water forecasts into a hydrologic and snow modeling system Result: Improved ability to manage the nation’s surface fresh water resources

9 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill Central Region: Easter Freeze of April 2007 “The Easter Freeze of April 2007: A Climatological Perspective and Assessment of Impacts and Services” First time NOAA/NWS assessed climate impacts from late season freeze event $2 billion plus in damages (NOAA, USDA) NWS Climate Services, NCDC, RCCs, multiple State Climatologists, USDA and others contributed Result: NWS changed practices on non- precipitation events (e.g., freeze and heat warnings) to include impacts; more collaboration with partners In early April 2007, a late spring freeze severely damaged canopies. Bottom image shows the frost- blackened canopy. (From L. Gu et al., courtesy BioScience) Missouri canopy, 2006 Missouri canopy, 2007

10 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill 10 Eastern Region: NDFDClimate National Digital Forecast Database Climate (NDFDClimate) is a computer application that creates images of forecast and climatological parameters for the continental U.S. Produces easy to understand graphics for display on the Internet Informs users about local climatology Helps power utilities to anticipate/forecast energy needs Alerts public to anomalous temperature forecasts

11 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill Alaska Region: Supporting Decision Making NWS Alaska Region is participating in: The Denali Commission - submitted its FY09 Work Plan, which now includes climate change in its planning The Climate Change Adaptation Advisory Group - made its first decisions on climate change policy options The Final Recommendations Report to the Govenor’s Sub-Cabinet from the Immediate Action Working Group - regarding the actions and policies that should be taken in the next 12 –18 months to prevent loss of life and property in Alaska’s communities that have been identified as those in greatest peril due to climate change phenomena (April 2008)

12 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill Pacific Region: Pacific Climate Information System (PaCIS) End-to-end regional climate services Collaborative partnerships: internal and external to NOAA, providers and users Surveying user needs, available information, and gaps Action Plan completed; implementation Plan currently under development Regional climate portal under development August 5-7, 2008

13 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill Southern Region: Local Office Value Added Service WFO Miami conducts semi- annual wet season and dry season briefings for the media Inform decision makers and increase public awareness of expected conditions in south Florida based on ENSO signal and local knowledge of impacts 13

14 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill Southern Region: Local Value Added Climate Products Florida has a very strong signal to El Niño/La Niña conditions. WFO Melbourne issues a dry season (November- April) outlook yearly for the Florida peninsula. Outlook for 2009/10 suggests fire danger is now very high across the Florida peninsula. 14

15 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill NWS National Training for Regional Climate Users Climate, Drought and Remote Sensing for California Department of Water Resources, June 17-18, 2009 Participants: Engineers, Hydrologists, Water Resource Managers Result will be a more climate literate decision maker with the knowledge to apply climate information and resources in their work Remote Sensing Drought El Niño / La Niña Climate Models

National Product for Regional Application: Hurricane Seasonal Outlook 16 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill

Key Regional Partners

18 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill Regional Climate Centers (RCCs) Valuable resource for NOAA operational and planning climate activities Develop tools (i.e., Applied Climate Information System, Datzilla, and WxCoderIII) Direct interaction with climate stakeholders Applied research on regional climate variability Educate stakeholders on emerging regional climate issues

19 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill American Association for State Climatologists (AASC) Provide a direct conduit of climate information and expertise into planning and management within the state Partnerships with NOAA, RCCs, NRCS Research, monitoring, services and expertise at the state and local level

20 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISAs) Collaboration with NWS Regions and local offices Support research that addresses complex climate sensitive issues of concern to decision- makers and policy planners at a regional level. Conduct extension climate studies, e.g. climate and forestry, agriculture, water management, human health, snow pack, wild fire, fisheries, coastal impacts, droughts, etc.

21 3 rd Annual NOAA Day on Capitol Hill Pacific ENSO Applications Center (PEAC) Conducts research and develop information products specific to the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands on the ENSO climate cycle Historical impacts in the Region Latest long-term forecasts of ENSO conditions

Summary NOAA/NWS is working to provide useful and timely climate information at the regional and local level We rely on a network of information from within and external to NOAA to ensure we are addressing relevant issues in each region