Climate and Weather Education

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Program Description

Weather sensitive enterprises abound in the state of Minnesota, including those of agricultural production systems, forestry, energy and water supply, horticulture, transportation, natural resource management, and recreation. Owners, operators and managers of such enterprises need to make knowledgeable decisions to optimize, or in some cases, mitigate the consequences of weather. Extension's Climate and Weather Education Program works to to create better understanding, planning, and decision-making through the use of climatic data, real-time weather observations, and forecast products.

Serving...

• Crop and Livestock Producers
• Gardeners
• Emergency Managers
• State and Federal Agencies
• K-12 Science Teachers
• Health Care Professionals

Specific Goals

• Increase knowledge of climate variability and behavior as related to risk-based decision
  making
• Provide training to better interpret National Weather Service forecast products
• Promote public safety through better planning and preparedness in response to potential
  weather hazards

Members

• Mark Seeley, Extension Climatologist/Meteorologist, Program Coordinator [info]
• Pete Boulay, DNR climatologist
• Steve Buan, Hydrologist, National Weather Service
• Craig Edwards, Regional Manager, National Weather Service
• Richard Naistat, Science Operations Officer, National Weather Service
• Greg Spoden, DNR climatologist
• Jim Zandlo, DNR State Climatologist
• Dave Ruschy, IT Specialist

Cooperators

• National Weather Service Forecast Office, Chanhassen
• Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, State Climatology Office

What we do...

• Minnesota Climatology Working Group Home Page (http://climate.umn.edu/)
• Weather Talk on Minnesota Public Radio's Morning Edition
• Minnesota Weekly Crop-Weather Report
• Crop Pest Management Short Course
• Certified Crop Advisors Updates
• Research and Outreach Center field days
• Flood Plain Managers Association Meetings
• Flood Outlook Coordination Meetings
• Hazardous Weather Education
• Master Gardening Education
• Winter Recreation Weekly Updates
• Minnesota Museum of Science Annual Earth Science
  Institute
• Weather Schools for Health Care Professionals
• Winter Season Climate Outlooks for Natural Gas Suppliers
• Hazardous Weather Awareness and Education Programs
• Workshops on Road Design and Use of Living Snow Fences
• WeatherTalk emailed newsletter

At a glance:

Minnesota Climatology Working Group Home Page

Printable Info Sheet

Weather Talk on MPR