Climate and Drought Monitoring Products at NCDC (Richard Heim)

Richard R. Heim Jr. & Deke Arndt
Climate Monitoring Branch
NOAA National Climatic Data Center
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center

CMB established 1998
◦ During record-breaking
global temperatures
◦ Interest in climate /
climate change was high
◦ Provide regular updates of
the state of the climate
system
◦ Various products &
indices
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-monitoring
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center

Mission: to “monitor and assess the state of
the climate”
◦ Products and information, not datasets
Near the end of the pipeline
◦ Lots of work upstream from us:
◦ Research, Development, Quality Assurance
Also near the beginning of another pipeline.
◦ Our work brings us into frequent contact with
stakeholders
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center
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U.S. Report
Global Report
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Reports are issued
each:
Month (Jan, Feb, … Dec)
Season (DJF, MAM, JJA,
SON)
Year
Each report (U.S. &
Global) provides
◦ Headlines
◦ Narrative
◦ Graphics
◦ Insight into different
components of the
climate system
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center
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National Overview
◦ Temperature
◦ Precipitation
Drought
Wildfire
Severe Weather
Tropical Cyclones
Winter Weather
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center
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NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center
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NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center
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Detailed narrative:
◦ Drought emergence
◦ Drought persistence
◦ Drought recovery
Multiple inputs
◦ Some local &
regional information
Intended audience:
◦ General public,
media, local &
regional climate
services pros
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center
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Actual values
(not just vs.
normal) for any
month, season,
year since 1900.
Temperature
and Precipitation
Spring temps
in Tulsa, OK
since 1948.
Very appealing and useful for the general public. Our most widely used product.
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center
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Updated daily,
weekly or monthly
Fairly comprehensive
one-stop shopping
Primary consumer:
“insiders” (drought
monitoring types;
water managers, etc.)
Also available to
public in “Big List”
form
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center
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Quantify observed changes in climate
extremes within the CONUS
“Extremes” = occurrences outside the 90 th /
10 th percentile value for the period of record
CEI is a “first-glance” monitoring tool to help
identify possible trends in climate extremes
Five indicators:
◦ monthly mean max and min temperature
◦ extreme 1-day precipitation
◦ the number of days with/without precipitation
◦ the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI)
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center
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Notable upward CEI
trend from ~1970
to present
Main driver:
extremes in
max/min temps, 1-
day precipitation
and PDSI (drought)
Also available by
season and by
component
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center
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Richard Heim
Richard.Heim@noaa.gov
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center
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