role of the maryland state climatologist kenneth e. pickering maryland state climatologist...
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Role of the Maryland State Climatologist
Kenneth E. Pickering
Maryland State Climatologist
Department of Meteorology
University of Maryland
College Park
Maryland Climate Change Workshop
August 6, 2003
Functions of the Office of the State Climatologist
• Archive climatic data for the State of Maryland• Fulfill requests for data from the public• Maintain a web page for distribution of data and
climate information• Conduct special climate analyses
DroughtTemperature and precipitation trendsSnowfall frequency distributionsAgricultural applications
Functions (continued)
• Participate in media interviews• Presentations concerning Maryland Climate to
community groups• Data analyses in support of air quality modeling
efforts
Data Sources
• 36 current NWS Cooperative stations
• 18 former NWS Cooperative stations
• 3 NWS/FAA airport stations
• 30 “other” volunteer observer stations
• Meso-net stations (to be added)
• Aircraft profiles
Maryland State Climatologist Office2000-2002 Data Requests
5932 35
5124
5166
3243
56
213
61
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
200
Stat
e A
genc
ies
Cou
nty
Gov
't
Fed
. Age
ncie
s
Con
stru
ct/M
anuf
ac.
Agr
icul
ture
Eng
inee
ring
U o
f M
D S
yste
mK
-12
Scho
ols/
stud
ents
Med
ia
Leg
al C
ases
Pri
vate
Ind
iv.
Unk
now
n A
ffil
.
Examples of Material on Maryland State Climatologist Office Web Page
http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~climate/sc.html
• 30-year normals for NWS stations
• Growing season data
• Interannual variability
• Decadal trends
• Longer-term climate change
2001-2002 Drought
Maximum rainfall deficits:
Aug. 2001 – Aug. 2002
Conowingo Dam 20.96”
Vienna 18.28”
Baltimore City 17.97”
Salisbury 17.93”
Royal Oak 17.86”
Beltsville 17.79”
BWI Airport 17.59”
Drought Comparisons
8/01-8/02 17 to 21 inch deficits over much ofstate except Garrett Co.
7/98-7/99 12 to 21 inch deficits west of bay; 10 to 11 inch on Eastern Shore
5/64-5/65 15 to 18 inch deficits over much of state except Garrett Co.
8/65-8/66 15 to 19 inch deficits over much of state except Garrett Co.
1/30-1/31 16 to 26 inch deficit
4.09 deg./100 yrs.
0.55 deg/100 yrs.
12.93 deg./100 yrs.
1977-1999 Temperature Trends
• Baltimore City +9.88 oF/100 yr• Chestertown +8.95• Glenn Dale +12.04• Laurel +8.71• Oakland +9.67• Royal Oak +11.65• Salisbury +12.77• Woodstock +12.93
Temperature Departures From Normal (in Degrees Fahrenheit)
StationDec ’01 Dep. From Normal
Dec ’02 Dep. From Normal
Jan ’02 Dep. From Normal
Jan ’03 Dep. From Normal
Feb ’02 Dep. From Normal
Feb ’03 Dep. From Normal
BWI airport
+5.4 -2.4 +6.8 -4.0 +3.8 -5.3
Dulles airport
+5.9 -2.6 +7.4 -3.3 +4.1 -4.5
Reagan National airport
+6.1 -2.3 +6.7 -3.8 +4.5 -4.4
AUGUST
Baltimore City
Baltimore City
FEBRUARY
Comparison of Annual Precipitation Normals
Year BWI airport
Cumberland Conowingo Dam
Emmitsburg Mechanicsville Snow Hill
Rockville
1961-1990
40.76
in.
35.83
in.
45.48
in.
43.07
in.
44.71
in.
44.53
in.
41.11
in.
1971-2000
41.94
in.
37.21
in.
48.09
in.
45.34
in.
47.52
in.
46.18
in.
43.08
in.
% increase in normals
+2.81 +3.71 +5.43 +5.01 +5.91 +3.57 +4.57
Annual Mean # of Days with SnowfallFrederick County
9.3
6
1.30.30.4
2
7.5
10.9
0.11.1
4.1
5.7
0.2
1.2
4.2
6.5
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
> 1 in. > 2 in. > 5 in. > 10 in.snow (inches)
mea
n #
of
day
s
Catoctin
Emmitsburg
Frederick
Unionville
Base = 50oF
Study Area and Selected Locations of Fixed Position UMD Aircraft Spirals in 2002
43 spirals in MD*College Park, MD Cambridge, MD*Fort Meade, MD Annapolis, MD *Cumberland, MD Churchville, MD Easton, MD
56 spirals in VA*Richmond, VA Crewe, VA Luray, VA Quinton, VA Winchester, VA Tappahannock, VA Ashland, VA Wakefield, VA Louisa, VA
39 spirals in PA, NY, ME*Erie, PA, *Ithaca, NY*Saratoga Springs, NY *Augusta, ME*Bar Harbor, ME
Summary
• Please visit our web site to see the various types of climate information that we offer
• Please contact our office if you have specific data requests or have a need for specialized climate analyses