West Watch is a monthly webinar series that brings together NOAA staff and partners from across the agency and region to share information about climate conditions and impacts
May 2024
We dove into a “use case” of a sub-seasonal forecast in Northern California for fisheries habitat management.
We were honored to have Troy Nicolini, Meteorologist-in-Charge of the NWS Eureka Weather Forecast Office present. Troy was joined by Margaret Tauzer, Hydrologist/Hydraulic Engineer at NOAA Fisheries California Coastal Office in Arcata. Troy and Margaret shared their experiences using sub-seasonal forecasts to inform decisions about river restoration work.
April 2024
This month featured the “original” format, with discussion of the atmospheric, hydrologic, and marine conditions we’ve experienced in the last several months. We also covered the available outlooks for what’s coming.
Our presenters :
Dan McEvoy, Western Regional Climate Center/DRI Reno, NV
Roxanne Carini, Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS) Seattle, WA
Henry Ruhl/Alex Harper, Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS) Moss Landing, CA
Clarissa Anderson, Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) La Jolla, CA
March 2024
This month, we took a look at the El Niño of 2023-2024.
We were honored to have Michelle L’Heureux, from the NOAA/NWS Climate Prediction Center present. Michelle took a look at our ENSO forecast, commented on its performance, and compared the winter conditions we experienced to our “canonical” expectation for an El Niño.
February 2024
February webinar featured the “original” format, with discussion of the atmospheric, hydrologic, and marine conditions we’ve experienced in the last several months. We also covered the available outlooks for what’s coming.
Our presenters:
Dan McEvoy, Western Regional Climate Center/DRI Reno, NV
Clarissa Anderson, Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) La Jolla, CA
Alex Harper, Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS) Trinidad, CA
Jan Newton, Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS) Seattle, WA
January 2024
January’s theme is All Things NOAA West. If you’ve ever wondered, “What is NOAA West? And what do they do?” then this is the webinar for you!
We featured NOAA West’s Regional Coordinator, Aja Szumylo, who spoke about several NOAA West initiatives, including the effort to compile a “Hyperlocal Climate Primer” for use by NWS Forecast Offices and the ongoing engagement of diverse students, ranging from elementary school through college, in the region. Joe Casola, Western Region Climate Services Director provided a recap of the Heat Health Equity Pilot work that took place last year, and where the Heat and Equity work is heading in the coming months.
October 2023
October West Watch webinar featured the “original” format, with discussion of the atmospheric, hydrologic, and marine conditions we’ve experienced in the last several months. We also covered the available outlooks for what’s coming.
Speakers include:
Dan McEvoy, Western Regional Climate Center/DRI
Reno, NV
Jan Newton, Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS)
Seattle, WA
Henry Ruhl, Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS)
Moss Landing, CA
Megan Medina, Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS)
La Jolla, CA
Jim Behrens, Coastal Data Information Program, Scripps Institute of Oceanography
La Jolla, CA
September 2023
September's West Watch webinar features a discussion of marine heatwaves, including an historical look at recent events and a tour of forecasting tools on seasonal time scales. We also delved into issues of defining marine heatwaves, and understanding how our definitions can influence our ability to anticipate impacts and conceptualize longer-term environmental change.
Speakers include:
Andrew Leising, Research Oceanographer, Southwest Fisheries Science Center
La Jolla, CA
Mike Jacox, Research Oceanographer, Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Monterey, CA
Dillon Amaya, Research Scientist, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory
Boulder, CO
August 2023
August's West Watch webinar is the “original” format, with discussion of the atmospheric, hydrologic, and marine conditions we’ve experienced in the last several months.
Speakers include:
Dan McEvoy, Western Regional Climate Center/DRI
Reno, NV
Clarissa Anderson, Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS)
La Jolla, CA
Henry Ruhl, Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS)
Moss Landing, CA
Jan Newton, Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS)
Seattle, WA
July 2023
July's West Watch webinar features presentations and discussion about Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) in the US West. The speakers describe impacts from ARs in California this past winter, a variety of research projects that are building our collective understanding and predictability of ARs, and the potential connections between ARs and climate change.
Speakers include:
David Rizzardo, California Department of Water Resources
Sacramento, CA
Jon Rutz, Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E)
Salt Lake City, UT
Mimi Hughes, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory
Boulder, CO
June 2023
June's West Watch webinar is the “original” format, with discussion of the atmospheric, hydrologic, and marine conditions we’ve experienced in the last several months.
Speakers include:
Dan McEvoy, Western Regional Climate Center/DRI
Reno, NV
Jan Newton, Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS)
Seattle, WA
Alex Harper, Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS)
Moss Landing, CA
Megan Medina, Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS)
La Jolla, CA
Jim Behrens, Coastal Data Information Program, Scripps Institute of Oceanography
La Jolla, CA
May 2023
Our May webinar will be a special “collab” with our NOAA OneHealth partners. Our speakers will share their work examining the intersection of climate and various threats to human health, ecosystems, food supplies, and cultural resources.
Speakers:
Karen Holcomb, Biologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Fort Collins, CO
Morgan Gorris, Staff Scientist, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, NM
Joseph Krieger, Invasive Species Coordinator, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, NOAA/OAR
Ann Arbor, MI
P. Sean McDonald, Associate Teaching Professor, Program on the Environment, University of Washington; Washington Sea Grant, Crab Team
Seattle, WA
April 2023
The April edition of West Watch provided an overview of observed climate conditions and impacts across the region.
Speakers included:
Dan McEvoy, Western Regional Climate Center/DRI, Reno, NV
Roxanne Carini, Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS),
Seattle, WA
Henry Ruhl, Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS), Moss Landing, CA
Clarissa Anderson and Julia Fiedler, Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS), La Jolla, CA
March 2023
In the March edition of West Watch, we hosted a discussion about the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The discussion reflected on the things we’ve learned about ENSO since the 2015-2016 event, added context to our observations of recent climate impacts in the region, and highlighted some of the ongoing research questions related to ENSO and regional climate variability.
Speakers included:
Michelle L'Heureux, NOAA/NWS Climate Prediction Center, College Park, MD
Nick Bond, Univ. of Washington/Office of the Washington State Climatologist, Seattle, WA
Nate Mantua, NOAA/NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA
February 2023
The February edition of West Watch provided an overview of observed climate conditions and impacts across the region.
Speakers included:
Dan McEvoy, Western Regional Climate Center/DRI, Reno, NV
Jan Newton, Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS),
Seattle, WA
Henry Ruhl, Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS), Moss Landing, CA
Clarissa Anderson, Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS), La Jolla, CA
January 2023
The first West Watch webinar of 2023 focused on the McKinney Fire and subsequent debris flow which occurred in Northern California during the summer of 2022.
Speakers included:
Tom Wright, National Weather Service, Medford, OR
Tim Bailey, The Watershed Research and Training Center, Hayfork, CA
Spencer Higginson, National Weather Service, Medford, OR
Shari Witmore, NOAA Fisheries, Arcata, CA
Email to joseph.casola@noaa.gov
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Check out the West Watch archives offsite link for events from 2015 - 2022.
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