- More than 140 climate scientists and contributors attended the 48th annual NOAA Climate Diagnostics & Prediction Workshop at Florida State University this past week.
- Climate experts spoke with ABC 27 about the workshop and their contributions to the event and our society.
- This was the first time Florida State has hosted this workshop since 2007.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Florida State University plays a big role in the world of weather prediction.
I'm First To Know Meteorologist Riley Winch in the College Town neighborhood at FSU.
Recently, the school hosted more than 140 experts and forecasters.
The main topic? Climate.
For the first time since 2007, the NOAA Climate Diagnostics and Prediction Workshop was hosted here at FSU.
The workshop creates a bridge between scientists and the public.
Dr. Vasu Misra is a professor at the department of the Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Florida State.
He tells me the conference brings together two groups.
"One deals with the technicality of climate prediction and diagnosing the climate variability within the region and the other is looking at the science of climate prediction and its application various sectors."
He says that the exposure this event gives the university is great.
"This really increases the visibility of our program and the campus to host world class scientists both in climate applications and climate predictions."
Dr. Mariana Timoyefeva is Chief of the Climate Services Branch at NOAA.
She represents the Climate Ready Nation initiative.
The goal of the initiative is to better communicate the impacts of climate on the general public.
"We have a nice good trusted relationship with people at the national, regional, and local level."
She says communicating climate effectively helps many parts of society, including the agricultural industry.
"Farmers are definitely looking at what is happening with climate, both climate variability and climate change"
A main focus of the workshop is the relationship between El Nino and La Nina in the Pacific Ocean. Heading into the summer months, the Climate Prediction Center is confident that we will transition from El Nino to La Nina, which could have a big impact on Florida and Georgia.
"La Nina is associated with reduced wind shear in the Atlantic so that tends to favor above normal Atlantic Hurricane Seasonal Activity."
Keep in mind, hurricane season starts June 1.
In the college town neighborhood, I'm Meteorologist Riley Winch, ABC 27.
