What is NIDIS; what is a Drought Early Warning System (DEWS); what is the Californai-Nevada Climate Applications program (CNAP); webinar agenda.
Discussion of the relationship between drought and wildfire. Key message include:
- Drought is now affecting all ecosystems, could get worse
- Changes most obvious in the West, impacts in eastern forests through morbidity, slow decline
- Impacts both immediate and long-lasting
- Plant stress, drought-tolerant species
- Habitat shifts
- Some invasive species can benefit
- Reduced carbon storage and water supplies
- Manage to increase resiliency and resistance
How patterns in snowmelt and streamflow are related, anecdotal “Rules of Thumb” and statistical tools for measuring the amount of snow, when it melts and how quickly it melts in different parts of Idaho.
Update on Pacific Northwest regional activities by various climate research and information groups.
Water Year 2016-17 conditions in the Payette and Owyhee River drainages.
Review of conditions in Snake River basin over the 2016-17 Water Year.
2016 fire season summary: Pioneer Fire background, Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER), fire effects on watersheds, Forest Service response, anticipated watershed effects.
Overview of 2015-16 cloud season results, Payette Target-Control, Basin-wide Target-Control results, Weather Research Forecast (WRF) modeling results, WRF model example, 2016-17 project overview, SNOWIE: Seeded and Natural Orographic Wintertime clouds — the Idaho Experiment.
Describes Chinook salmon management by Idaho Power in Columbia River Basin.
The 2017 Water Year in Pacific Northwest so far, climate outlook and water supply forecasts. Includes jet stream and La Niña/El Niño information.