Climate and Water Forecasts for the 2007 Water Year

October 3, 2006
9:00-4:00 pm
Kelso, Washington

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General Meeting Information

The Climate Impacts Group Annual Fall Forecast Meetings

Every fall, the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington hosts workshops highlighting the seasonal climate forecast and water resource outlook for the Pacific Northwest (PNW) for the upcoming water year.

The information presented at these meetings provides public and private resource managers the opportunity to consider how projected seasonal streamflow levels may affect operational decisions in the Pacific Northwest.

The meetings also provide the opportunity to learn about new water resource forecasting techniques and tools.

 

General Meeting Information

The Climate Impacts Group's (CIG's) fall forecast meeting provided an opportunity to hear how forecasted climate conditions for the winter 2006-2007 may affect regional climate and streamflow conditions in the Columbia River Basin and western Washington and Oregon. The meeting also provided a forum for sharing the latest research on climate impacts and climate forecasting in the Pacific Northwest (PNW).

The fall forecast meeting was open to the public. This year's meeting brought 60 water resource managers, power supply managers, fisheries managers, and others together to hear the latest on climate variability and change for the PNW. A breakdown of meeting participants by area of focus is provided in Figure 1 . The list of final meeting participants is also available.

Figure 1: Final Participants
(click image to enlarge)

Final Agenda and Presentations

A PDF of the final agenda is available here.

9:00-9:10

Welcome and introductions – Alan Hamlet, UW

9:10-9:50

Winter 2005-06 climate recap and outlook for winter 2006-07 – Nate Mantua, UW

9:50-10:30

Seasonal outlooks for hydrology and water resources: Streamflow, reservoir, and hydropower forecasts for major western U.S. river systems (with emphasis on the Columbia River basin ) – Andrew Wood and Alan Hamlet, UW

10:30-10:45

**Break**

10:45-11:15

Seasonal volume forecasts using Ensemble Streamflow Prediction for the 2007 Water Year – Stephen King, NWS River Forecast Center

11:15-11:45

A new ensemble energy product from the University of Washington – Alan Hamlet, UW

11:45-12:15

Recent advancements in our network, data, and products as related to snow, climate and water supply forecasting - Jolyne Lea, National Water & Climate Center , USDA NRCS

12:15-1:00

** Lunch (provided) **

1:00-1:30

New temperature and precipitation forecast tools – Andrea Bair, NOAA National Weather Service

1:30-2:00

Optimized flood control in the Columbia River Basin for global warming scenarios – Se-Yeun Lee, UW

2:00-2:30

Climate impacts on salmon recovery in the Snohomish River Basin – Rick Palmer, UW

2:30-2:45

** Break **

2:45-3:15

Climate change and the Yakima Storage Basin project - Kim McCartney, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Mark Mastin, U.S. Geological Survey

3:15-3:45

Recent climate change modeling results – Eric Salathé, UW

3:45-4:00

Preview of new decision support products from the UW and meeting wrap-up – Lara Whitely Binder, UW

Meeting Location

The Climate and Water Forecast meeting will be held at the Red Lion Inn in Kelso, Washington.

510 Kelso Drive
Kelso, WA 98626
Tel: 360-636-4400
Fax: 360-425-3296

A map and driving directions are available here.

Other Climate Meetings of Interest

Idaho Climate and Water Forecasts for the 2007 Water Year - October 17, 2006 (Boise, Idaho)

The Idaho Climate and Water Forecasts meeting provides the opportunity to hear how forecasted climate conditions for the winter 2006-2007 may affect regional climate and streamflow conditions in the Columbia and Snake River Basins in 2007. Information on the Idaho meeting is available on the Idaho meeting web site.
Photo of the Columbia River at Hanford by the Climate Impacts Group