SECC Partners

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SECC Partners
Florida State Univeristy climate studies,
coupled modeling, climate forecasts, forestry
University of Florida extension, crop modeling,
decision support tools
University of Miami climate, economics, water
resources, assessment
University of Georgia climate, extension, crop
modeling
University of Auburn extension, economics,
insurance
University of Alabama Huntsville climate, water
resources
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SECC Climate Vision

• Facilitate the effective use of climate
  information and forecasts in areas of
  agriculture, forestry, and water resource
  management in the Southeast United States.

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SECC Climate Goals

• Better understand and predict climate
  variability, including extremes, extreme events,
  and uncertainties, in the Southeast.
• Develop products and services which most
  effectively communicate pertinent climate
  information to the end user.

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SECC Climate Program Structure
Table 1. Climate Activities
Climate Activity AU FSU UF UGA UM UAH
ARSCO State Climate Office x x x
Agriculture or other Weather Network x x x
Climate Extension Specialist x x x x
Climate Research x x x x x x
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SECC Climate Research Objectives

• Explore other modes of climate variability in the
  Southeast U.S.
• Focus on variability of extremes and extreme
  events.
• Development, validation and linkage of
  Global/regional spectral climate model with crop
  and hydrologic models.
• Development of stochastic weather generators.
• Refinement and development of climate forecast
  products and their presentation to the end users.

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SECC Climate Data Infrastructure

• Web delivery of climate information and forecast
  products.
• Automate data ingest and data base updates.
• Include near real-time data and products
• Inclusion of data from agricultural weather
  networks.
• Explore the use of remotely sensed data such as
  nexrad and satellite.

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The Philosophy of Climate Services

• By
• Jim OBrien
• State Climatologist of Florida
• The Florida State University
• Tallahassee, FL 32305
• Jim.obrien_at_coaps.fsu.edu
• [phone]

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What is Climate Services?
Climate Services is the delivery of knowledge of
past and future climate variability to users.
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What are standard variables?

• The standard weather variables are
• Temperature - Hourly, daily, maximum and minimum,
  monthly, annual
• Atmospheric Pressure
• Rainfall - Hourly, daily, monthly, etc., rainfall
  rates
• Humidity - Specific humidity, relative humidity,
  wet-bulb temperature, etc.
• Winds - Wind speed and direction, wind components

Most clients need derived information. EXAMPLES
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Wind Climatology
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Probabilistic Climate Forecasts
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Impact Freezes of the last century
Freeze Date ENSO State Dec 1894
Neutral Feb 1899 Neutral Dec
1934 Neutral Jan 1940
Neutral Dec 1961 Neutral Jan
1977 El Nino Jan 1981
Neutral Dec 1983 Neutral Jan
1985 Neutral Dec 1989
Neutral Jan 1997 Neutral High
Impact
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ENSO and Florida FreezeProbabilites
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Extended Freeze Events
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First Lessons Learned

• Concise information
• Simple and easy to understand
• Timely and up to date
• Local information (county scale)
• Comes from a trusted source - partnership with
  extension
• Historical context

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www.agclimate.org
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More Lessons Learned

• Traditional climate variables not always
  meaninful
• Return rate low
• Repeat exposure aids understanding
• Users unable to make quick conclusions
• Information needs to be interpreted
• No real entry or starting point

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Climate Outlooks

• Quarterly, focus on next 3-6 months
• Simple language
• No forecast does not mean no information
• Highlights seasonal issues or threats
• No more that 2 pages

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Success of Climate Outlooks

• Media ready
• All or parts can be pasted into extension
  newsletters
• AgClimate hit rates spike on release of the
  outlooks
• Provide natural link for our partners at FAWN and
  GAEMN
• Great feedback from growers, agents, and
  extension specialists

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Crop-specificOutlooks

• Released at critical times for the given
  commodity
• Direct input from extension specialists
• Gives management options, not recommedations

Peanut Sept. 05, Mar. 06 Ed Jowers, John Beasly, William Birdsong
Citrus Sept. 05 John Jackson
Winter Pasture Sept. 05 Doug Mayo

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Success of Crop-Specific Outlooks

• Participation by extension specialists fosters
  ownership
• Widely included in county or area newletters
• Continued engagement keep climate issues in the
  forefront

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ANY QUESTIONS?