Drought Management in NC

Ryan Boyles

State Climate Office of NC

NC State University

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About the State Climate Office

• Public Service Center at NCSU• Statewide public resource for weather

and climate information and services – Extension of research to community

applications– Research on NC weather and climate– Outreach, Education

• Focus on service to the state

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NC - Statutory Authority• Drought Council – 1992 via NC Emergency

Operations Plan• 2002 – Drought focused activity• 2003 Legislation establishing Drought

Management Advisory Council– Objective advisories for local govt– Assessment of local conditions using technical data

• 2008 – strengthened to include broader representation

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Assessing Drought

• Weekly Technical Webinars– Core expertise with >10 yrs experience– Environmental sensor data

• Precipitation, temperatures, streams, groundwater

• High resolution, rich source of data inland

– Impacts• Fire activity and risk• Agriculture, vegetation impacts• Water quality & Water supply

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Groundwater Monitoring

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NC Drought Monitor

NIDIS Carolinas Pilot - Wilmington, NC - July 31, 2012

NIDIS Carolinas Pilot - Wilmington, NC - July 31, 2012

Key Needs of NIDIS Pilot

• Build on existing efforts• Enhance outreach, education• Enhance monitoring• Connect drought indicators to impacts

– Integrated modeling physical, ecological systems?

• Emphasis on sustainable service– Integrate sciences into decision support

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ryan_boyles@ncsu.edu

http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu

919-515-3056 or 877-718-5544