Climate Services Provided by the Colorado Climate Center Mark Losleben and Nolan Doesken Colorado Climate Center Atmospheric Science Department Colorado State University Presented July 28, 2005, Boulder, CO
Dec 20, 2015
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, [email protected]
Nolan J. DoeskenClimatologist and Senior Research Associate,
Odie BlissCoordinator, [email protected]
Marty OseckySystem Administrator
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
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…
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
Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS)
Denver International Airport ASOS, Photo courtesy of the National Weather Service
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
Common Theme from Climate Monitoring Applications is –
““Inadequate Spatial Density of Precipitation Data”Inadequate Spatial Density of Precipitation Data”
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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.
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).
CoCo RaHS Gauge in March 2003 Snowstorm
Arapahoe County CoCo RaHS observer near Cherry Creek, Colorado
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.
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