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<br />INTERMOUNTAIN WEST CLIMATE SUMMARY <br /> <br />-'J.~ '* C9~(!) dJ(!;l~e &. \9r;:7.r;;, 'l <br />~~ rJ;l!)rP 'J.11> \~~l P''MWI ; ~LI' ~ by The Western Water Assessment <br />l!i ~ G:;:f~ ~ ~~* if 1.\\;;"<;0'0 <br /> <br />Issued January 22, 2008 <br />Vol. 4, Issue 1 <br /> <br />January 2008 Climate Summary <br /> <br />Hydrological Conditions - Severe drought status persists in western Utah <br />and western Wyoming, and eastern Colorado has been elevated into the <br />abnormally dry category by the U. S. Drought Monitor. <br /> <br />Temperature - Temperatures across most of the region were 0-40F below <br />average in December, but some areas in each state were 6-1 OOF below aver- <br />age. <br /> <br />Precipitation - Precipitation across most of the region was near or above <br />average in December, with most of Utah and Colorado getting above 2000/0 of <br />average. <br /> <br />ENSO - A moderate La Nina event is underway in the Pacific Ocean. It is <br />likely to persist through April 2008 and may gradually diminish in Spring 2008. <br /> <br />Climate Forecasts - La Nina impacts during February - April 2008 are <br />above average precipitation in the Pacific Northwest (including Wyoming) and <br />below average precipitation in the Southwest, including southern Colorado <br />and southern Utah. There is an increased chance of above average tempera- <br />tures across much of the Intermountain West. <br /> <br />UTAH RELEASES CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT <br /> <br />In Utah, the Governor's <br />Blue Ribbon Advi- <br />sory Council on Climate <br />Change released their <br />final report in October. <br />The board was made up <br />of government, industry, environment <br />and community representatives, who <br />were tasked with identifying proactive <br />measures that Utah might take to mitigate <br />the impacts of greenhouse gases. They <br /> <br />evaluated the science of climate change <br />and how it pertains to temperature trends, <br />snowmelt runoff, drought, and severe <br />weather in Utah. They made recom- <br />mendations on options for greenhouse <br />gas reductions grouped in five sectors: <br />Agriculture and Forestry, Cross-Cutting, <br />Energy Supply, Residential!Commercial! <br />Industrial, and Transportation and Land <br />Use. The report is available at: http:// <br />www.deq.utah.gov/BRAC_Climate/. <br /> <br /> <br />U PCOMI NG WORKSHOPS See http://wwa.colorado.edu <br /> <br />WW A is organizing a workshop on climate change modeling for water resources <br />managers on February 1st in Denver. <br />WWA, NOAA's Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, and NRCS are co-sponsor- <br />ing a \vorkshop on Forecast Verification on February 19th in Denver. Please see <br />the Feature article on page 2 for more information. <br /> <br />IN THIS ISSUE <br /> <br />1 January 2008 Climate Summary <br /> <br />2 Feature: Forecast Verification: Past, <br />Present, and Future <br /> <br />18 Focus: National Integrated Drought <br />Information System Drought Portal <br /> <br />RECENT CONDITIONS <br />5 Temperature <br />6 Preci pitati on <br />7 U.S. Drought Monitor <br />8 Intermountain West Snowpack <br />9 Regional Standardized <br />Preci pi tati on Index <br />10 Colorado Water Availability <br />11 Wyoming Water Availability <br />12 Utah Water Availability <br /> <br />FORECASTS <br />13 Temperature Outlooks <br />14 Precipitation Outlooks <br />15 Seasonal Drought Outlook <br />16 EI Nino Status and Forecast <br />17 Spring and Summer Streamflo\v <br />Forecasts <br />20 Research Notes <br /> <br />On the Web: http://wwa.colorado.edu <br /> <br />Contact Us - To receive an email when a new <br />Summary is available, please email us at: <br />wwas u m ma ry@wwa.colorado.edu. <br /> <br />Brad Udall - WWA Director <br />Andrea Ray, Jessica Lowrey - EditorslWriters <br />Christina Alvord, Julie Malmberg, Koren <br />Nydick - Writers <br />Barb DeLuisi - Graphic Designer <br />Klaus Wolter, Gary Bates - Asst. Editors <br /> <br />Disclaimer - This product is designed for the <br />provision of experimental climate services. While we <br />attempt to verify this information, we do not warrant <br />the accuracy of any of these materials. The user <br />assumes the entire risk related to the use of this <br />data. WWA disclaims any and all warranties, whether <br />expressed or implied, including (without limitation) <br />any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness <br />for a particular purpose. This publication was <br />prepared by CIRES/WWA with support in part from <br />the U.S. Department of Commerce/NOAA, under <br />cooperative agreement NA 17RJ 1229 and other <br />grants. The statements, findings, conclusions, and <br />recommendations are those of the author(s) and do <br />not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA. <br /> <br />The Intermountain West Climate Summary is published monthly by Western Water Assessment <br />(WWA), a joint project of the University of Colorado Cooperative Institute for Research in Envi- <br />ronmental Sciences (CIRES) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) <br />Earth System Research Laboratory, researching water, climate and societal interactions. <br /> <br />~ <br />CIRES <br /> <br />. <br />~ <br />