By Geitner Simmons | IANR Media
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s High Plains Regional Climate Center processes complex climate data that provide a host of practical uses. Farmers use the information in deciding planting and irrigation. Industry relies on it for energy planning. Scientists depend on it for long-term climate analysis. On top of those responsibilities, a recent natural disaster on the East Coast has handed the center crucial additional duties.
In September, Hurricane Helene smashed into western North Carolina, devastating mountain communities and shutting down the National Centers for Environmental Information, the country’s largest repository of weather and climate information, in Asheville. That facility was the country’s central source of a range of aggregated and processed weather and climate data.
To keep that crucial information flowing to users across the country, the High Plains center’s climatologists and data specialists took action, coordinating with partners including five other regional climate centers across the country.
“It’s important to be able to adapt and make sure that this critical climate information is available for clients throughout the country,” said William Sorensen, senior applications/systems programmer for the High Plains center, which has been housed in the School of Natural Resources since 1987. “So many people rely on getting the data to make good decisions, to make money, to grow a crop, or whatever their need.”
Because the High Plains center constantly receives weather and climate information from multiple sources, it has the capacity to deal with data on a national level, so there was no break in the data chain, Sorensen said. “It’s just that given the situation, we become a source for end users,” after the information from satellites and surface measurements is processed to meet users’ specific needs.
The High Plains center’s main response required stepped-up coordination and collaboration with partner entities rather than making major changes in procedure or adjustments in equipment. The High Plains center’s IT team quickly adapted by pulling a particular set of raw data directly from Colorado State University, for example.
The Asheville center has restored much of its capability but is still working toward full restoration.
Read the full story at https://news.unl.edu/article/high-plains-center-helps-maintain-climate-information-flow-after-hurricane