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Recap of July 2011 Austin Forum

Recap of July 2011 Austin Forum. Mark Shafer Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program. July 2011 Drought Forum Austin, TX. National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Status and Evolution of the Drought Seasonal Climate and Drought Outlook South Central U.S. Droughts & La Nina.

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Recap of July 2011 Austin Forum

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  1. Recap of July 2011 Austin Forum Mark Shafer Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program

  2. July 2011 Drought ForumAustin, TX • National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) • Status and Evolution of the Drought • Seasonal Climate and Drought Outlook • South Central U.S. Droughts & La Nina

  3. Drought Context: 5 months ago • Drought began in earnest in October 2010 • Oct 2010-June 2011 driest 9-month period on record in TX • Heat building across the region • June hottest ever recorded in Texas • Development was consistent with La Nina • Climate variability most likely explained current drought conditions • Rapid onset and magnitude beyond observational record • Indicators pointed toward a re-development of La Nina in Fall 2011

  4. Impacts of the 2010-2011 Drought • Over 3.2 million acres burned in Texas • Drought losses at least $1.2 billion in Texas (at the time; current estimates in region near $8B) • Cattle Industry thinning herds • Will take years to recover their losses

  5. When is Drought a News Story? • Clearly relate current conditions to historical conditions • Create simple graphics summarizing the current situation • Be proactive with local reporters • More timely communications from water utilities regarding upcoming water restrictions

  6. State Drought Planning and Response • More frequent assessments and updates of states’ drought plans • Improve drought-related triggers and indicators for planning responses • Assure triggers are implemented • Enhance ongoing interactions between the research community and decision-makers

  7. Summary • Guidance on product interpretation • Especially relating to drivers and drought forecasts • Preparing summaries for the public • Systematic assessments of impacts • Post products and narratives understandable to the lay-person • Include more state extension agents • Help obtaining data at the local or basin scale • Best practices document for improving coordination among federal, state, and local agencies

  8. Webinars: Managing Drought

  9. Webinar Series Goals • To improve communication among agencies and organizations in the Southern Plains who are being affected by the historic and exceptional drought • To provide information on available resources and assistance to help monitor and manage drought • To understand the impacts of drought in this region from the perspective of those who are tasked with managing it • To document impacts that will help improve the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor assessment and our understanding of how drought impacts evolve and decay

  10. Webinar Format • 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month at 11:00 a.m. Central Time • Overview of regional drought conditions and outlook for next several weeks to months • led by the Drought Monitor authors • Discussion Topic • Alternating between an impact type (wildfire, agriculture) and a resource (monitoring tools, assistance programs) • Comments & Updates from State Climatologists • Open-ended time for questions and comments

  11. Topics So Far • Historical Context and Evolution of the Drought (Sep 29) • La Nina and Prospects for Continued Drought (Oct 13) • Flash Drought (Oct 27) • Water Resources (Dec 1) • Cattle & Livestock (Dec 8) To sign up, see http://www.southernclimate.org

  12. PDF Summaries

  13. Distributing Results • NIDIS Drought Portal (slides and pdf summaries) • http://www.drought.gov/portal/server.pt/community/southern_plains • SCIPP Website (pdf summaries) • http://www.southernclimate.org • Youtube (webinar recordings) • http://www.youtube.com/user/SCIPP01 • Facebook (pdf summaries) • Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program

  14. Other Activities • Conversations with state officials • Updating state drought plans • Surveys of information flow • Numerous town hall meetings • Media Interviews • Informal Publications • OCS/Mesonet Ticker: http://ticker.mesonet.org/ • Climate Abyss: http://blog.chron.com/climateabyss/

  15. Talking About Drought Can Be Tough…

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