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Recap of July 2011 Austin Forum

Recap of the 2011 Austin Forum on drought, discussing impacts of the 2010-2011 drought in Texas and strategies for effective communication and drought planning. Includes information on webinars and distribution of results.

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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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