Drought Management in NC
Ryan Boyles
State Climate Office of NC
NC State University
NIDIS Carolinas Pilot - Wilmington, NC - July 31, 2012 2
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
NIDIS Carolinas Pilot - Wilmington, NC - July 31, 2012
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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