2011 Summer AERA Training What’s Normal? What’s Normal? 26-29 June 2011 26-29 June 2011 Edward J. Hopkins, Edward J. Hopkins, Assistant Wisconsin State Climatologist Assistant Wisconsin State Climatologist Dept. of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences Dept. of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Wisconsin-Madison
What’s Normal? 26-29 June 2011. Edward J. Hopkins, Assistant Wisconsin State Climatologist Dept. of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences University of Wisconsin-Madison. Background. “Normals” Way of depicting an expected climate state based upon statistics over a long-time span. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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2011 Summer AERA Training 1
What’s Normal?What’s Normal?26-29 June 201126-29 June 2011
Edward J. Hopkins, Edward J. Hopkins, Assistant Wisconsin State ClimatologistAssistant Wisconsin State ClimatologistDept. of Atmospheric & Oceanic SciencesDept. of Atmospheric & Oceanic SciencesUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
2011 Summer AERA Training 2
BackgroundBackground
“Normals” – Way of depicting an expected climate state based upon
statistics over a long-time span.
What normals include:– Averages– Frequencies– Percentiles
Standardized International Agreement– National Weather Service and National Climatic Data
Center following international agreement to update the 30-year “normals” every ten years.
2011 Summer AERA Training 3
Background (con’t.)Background (con’t.)
Why 30-year time length? – Climate is always changing!– Three-decade time-span deemed appropriate – Not too long to cover-up long-term changes in climate– Not too short for an uneven set of statistics due to year-
to-year or decadal changes in weather & climate.
Current climate normal interval covers 1971-2000 averaging period, but wait…
2011 Summer AERA Training 4
Long-term temperature record
2011 Summer AERA Training 5
Modifying the normalsModifying the normals
2011 Summer AERA Training 6
Modifying the normalsModifying the normals
2011 Summer AERA Training 7
Modifying the normalsModifying the normals
2011 Summer AERA Training 8
Modifying the normalsModifying the normals
2011 Summer AERA Training 9
Modifying the normalsModifying the normals
2011 Summer AERA Training 10
Modifying the normalsModifying the normals
2011 Summer AERA Training 11
Modifying the normalsModifying the normals
2011 Summer AERA Training 12
New NormalsNew Normals
National Climatic Data Center is computing new normals of station – temperature (maximum, minimum and average), – precipitation, – snowfall and snow cover – heating and cooling degree day information.
Normals for all these variables will be for daily, monthly, seasonal and annual time scales.
For 250 Local Climatological Data stations:– Hourly averages will include humidity & wind
information.
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Climate StationsClimate Stations
Temperature Temperature ~7500 stations~7500 stations