Climate Services Provided by the Colorado Climate Center

Mark Losleben andNolan DoeskenColorado Climate CenterAtmospheric Science DepartmentColorado State UniversityPresented July 28, 2005, Boulder, CO

Beginnings After the State Climatologist positions were

abolished by the federal government in the early 1970s, many states gradually established state funded climate offices. Many were at land-grant universities.

The Colorado Climate Center was established at Colorado State University in 1974 within the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station.

Who Are We? Roger A. Pielke, Sr.

Professor, Atmospheric Science and State Climatologist, pielke@atmos.colostate.edu

Nolan J. DoeskenClimatologist and Senior Research Associate,

nolan@atmos.colostate.edu

Odie BlissCoordinator, odie@atmos.colostate.edu

Marty OseckySystem Administrator

What We Do….

Climatic Research Instrument Comparison Studies, Drought, Snow,

Variability and Trends, Impacts and Modeling, etc.

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Data Acquisition and Archive Elements: temperature, precipitation, snow, wind, solar,

evaporation, soil temperatures, humidity, cloud cover

Monitor the Climate of Colorado Drought, flooding, blizzards, tornadoes, temperature

extremes, Heating/Cooling Degree Data, etc.

Disseminate Information Farmers, ranchers, consultants, engineers, print and

broadcast media, water resources, utilities, construction, lawyers, federal, state and local governments, schools, universities, and many others.

HOW? Website, phone, fax, email, publications and conferences

http://ccc.atmos.colostate.edu(970) 491-8545 phone

(970) 491-3314 fax

http://ccc.atmos.colostate.edu

What Are Climate Services? Colorado’s experience in Climate Services:

appropriate and accessible data, studied and analyzed, and applied to important situations.

But it all comes down to the data…

How Do We Monitor Our Climate?

National Weather Service Collaboration

Picture of a standard coop station, potentially map showing coop station location (CO, WRCC map)

Cooperative Weather Stations

in Colorado

Typical Cooperative Weather Station

USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service

NRCS Snotel Sites for Colorado

Typical NRCS Snotel Site

State Engineer’s Office

U.S. Geological Survey

And all the others collecting weather and climate data

Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS)

Denver International Airport ASOS, Photo courtesy of the National Weather Service

Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS)

School Weather Stations

Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)

** Not a very good picture, maybe you can find one…

Urban Drainage and Flood Control District (UDFCD) ALERT system

New ALERT weather station & stream gage on Marston Lake North Drainageway.

Colorado Climate Center Monitoring Activities Fort Collins Historic Weather Station –

Continuous observations from 1889 to presentFORT COLLINS, COLORADO

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CoAgMetWeather Data for Agriculture Automated weather stations

with daily and hourly readings of: Temperature Humidity Wind Precipitation Solar energy Evapotranspiration

http://www.coagmet.com

Center, Colo., CoAgMet Daily Valuesof Temperature and Solar Radiation

Applications of Climate Monitoring

Applications of Climate Monitoring Standardized Precipitation Index Map

Applications of Climate Monitoring Water Management and Irrigation Scheduling

Applications of Climate Monitoring Extreme Precipitation

Study

Applications of Climate Monitoring History of Extreme Rainfall

Applications of Climate Monitoring

March 2003 Snow storm aftermath in Fort Collins

Common Theme from Climate Monitoring Applications is –

““Inadequate Spatial Density of Precipitation Data”Inadequate Spatial Density of Precipitation Data”

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?? How About Remote Sensing ??CSU-CHILL Radar Site

Remote Sensing is Great – ButGround Calibration is Crucial

Red Arrow indicates location of CoCo RaHS observer. Resulting hailpad and retrieved hailstones. CoCo RaHS observations are also providing valuable spotter information to the National Weather Service.

Contour map of hail quadrature parameter (HQP) showing potential hail damage from a severe thunderstorm in Douglas County, CO, in July 2002. The data were produced from the CSU-CHILL Polametric Radar. CoCo RaHS data are being used as ground validation for the CSU-CHILL hail and rainfall products.

How can we gather more data without breaking the bank??

Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network

The Origin of CoCoRaHSThe Fort Collins Flood of July 28, 1997

What is CoCoRaHS?CoCoRaHS is a unique, non-profit community based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail and snow).

CoCoRaHS: Simple tools to study rain

Rain Gauge Example Station

CoCo RaHS Gauge in March 2003 Snowstorm

Arapahoe County CoCo RaHS observer near Cherry Creek, Colorado

CoCoRaHS: : Simple Tools to Study Hail

Hail Pad

Damaged Hail Pad

Example Hail Pad Stands

CoCoRaHS -- Supplementing NWS Cooperative Program to Improve Precipitation Measurements.

Fort Collins Daily Rainfall Examples

Colorado HailstormJuly 10, 2002, Parker, CO

Expanded Hail Information from Web Site

How many volunteers do we How many volunteers do we need?need?

Our goal is at least one per square mile over urbanized areas.

As many as we can find in rural areas.

Participating CoCoRaHS States

For More Information, Visit theCoCoRaHS Web Site

Support for this project provided by Informal Science Education Program,National Science Foundationandmany local charter sponsors.

http://www.cocorahs.org

Colorado Climate CenterData and Power Point Presentations available for downloading

http://ccc.atmos.colostate.edu click on “Drought” then click on “Presentations”