THE STATE CLIMATOLOGIST 2018 Annual Summary Volume 37, Issue 1 The State Climatologist is a publication of the American Association of State Climatologists 2 May 6, 2019 My fellow climatologists, partners, and friends of the American Association of State Climatologists (AASC): Thank you for your interest in and support of the AASC. As you’ll see in this 2018 edition of The State Climatologist, we have a strong and diverse group of state climate offices who, along with our partners at the six Regional Climate Centers, the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), and the National Weather Service, are committed to advancing the development and delivery of science-based climate services at all scales. We had quite an exciting 2018 and appreciate your being a part of it. Here are just a few highlights: ● Addition of Associate Member-at-Large position to the Executive Committee to represent interests of our Associate Members ● Addition of Student and Corporate Membership classes and induction of our first Student Members ● AASC Meetup and exhibit at the AMS Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas ● Applied Climate Information System (ACIS) Workshop, in cooperation with the NRCC, offered along with the 2018 AASC Annual Meeting ● 2018 AASC Annual Meeting, hosted by the Nebraska State Climate Office at the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City ● State Climate Office User Engagement Study in cooperation with NCEI with 14 SCOs ● Fall webinar on use of NCEI’s EV-2 system to access historical climate data We continue the momentum in 2019 and look forward to supporting our members and building capacity in state climate office programs well into the future. During the past year, we have seen quite a few changes in our state climate offices: ● Whitney Montague became the new Arkansas State Climatologist. She assumed the responsibility from the late Michael Borengasser, Arkansas’s first State Climatologist, who passed away January of 2018, after serving more than 30 years as a hydrologist for the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission. ● Justin Glisan, a graduate of the atmospheric science department at the University of Missouri, became the new Iowa State Climatologist. He follows Harry Hillaker, who retired after 31 years of distinguished service. ● Jim Angel retired after 22 years as the Illinois State Climatologist. However, he had served his state as a primary source of science-based weather and climate information for 34 years with the Illinois State Water Survey. The new Illinois State Climatologist has not yet been selected. ● Beth Hall, former director of the High Plains Regional Climate Center, was named as the State Climatologist for Indiana. She replaced Dev Niyogi, who left the position after 14 years of service. ● Martin Stuefer became the new State Climatologist for Alaska. He assumed the position from Peter Olsson, who retired in 2018 after serving for 15 years. 3 ● Walter Robinson was named acting State Climatologist for North Carolina. He replaced Aaron Sims, who transitioned to a private sector position after serving as the acting North Carolina State Climatologist for three years. Through the years, as I have served within the AASC and my community, I have gained a great deal of wisdom from others who have left an enduring legacy. I am fortunate to be able to say I was there when Ken Crawford, Kelly Redmond, and Arnold Court were leading and creating that legacy. Now, I am honored to be serving the AASC as your president. I thank you for giving me a chance to earn your trust. Adnan Akyüz President, American Association of State Climatologists State Climatologist for North Dakota 4 ABOUT THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE CLIMATOLOGISTS ................................ 7 ALABAMA OFFICE OF THE STATE CLIMATOLOGIST ................................................................ 8 ALASKA CLIMATE RESEARCH CENTER (ACRC) ........................................................................ 11 ARIZONA STATE CLIMATE OFFICE ............................................................................................... 14 CALIFORNIA STATE CLIMATE OFFICE ......................................................................................... 17 COLORADO CLIMATE CENTER ....................................................................................................... 21 OFFICE OF THE DELAWARE STATE CLIMATOLOGIST ........................................................... 25 GEORGIA CLIMATE OFFICE ............................................................................................................. 28 HAWAII STATE CLIMATE OFFICE .................................................................................................. 30 IDAHO STATE CLIMATE SERVICES ................................................................................................ 32 ILLINOIS STATE CLIMATE OFFICE ................................................................................................ 35 STATE CLIMATOLOGIST OFFICE OF IOWA................................................................................. 37 STATE CLIMATE OFFICE OF KANSAS ............................................................................................ 40 KENTUCKY CLIMATE CENTER ........................................................................................................ 43 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF THE STATE CLIMATOLOGY ................................................................ 45 MAINE CLIMATE OFFICE ................................................................................................................... 49 MICHIGAN STATE CLIMATOLOGICAL RESOURCES PROGRAM .......................................... 51 MINNESOTA STATE CLIMATOLOGY OFFICE.............................................................................. 53 MISSISSIPPI STATE CLIMATE OFFICE ........................................................................................... 56 MISSOURI CLIMATE CENTER ........................................................................................................... 59 NEBRASKA STATE CLIMATE OFFICE ............................................................................................ 63 NEVADA STATE CLIMATE OFFICE ................................................................................................. 66 NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE CLIMATE OFFICE ............................................................................... 70 OFFICE OF THE NEW JERSEY STATE CLIMATOLOGIST ......................................................... 73 NEW MEXICO STATE CLIMATE OFFICE ....................................................................................... 75 NORTH DAKOTA STATE CLIMATE OFFICE ................................................................................. 77 STATE CLIMATE OFFICE OF OHIO ................................................................................................. 84 OKLAHOMA CLIMATOLOGICAL SURVEY ................................................................................... 87 OREGON CLIMATE SERVICE ............................................................................................................ 90 PENNSYLVANIA STATE CLIMATE OFFICE ................................................................................... 92 SOUTH CAROLINA STATE CLIMATOLOGY OFFICE ................................................................. 95 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE CLIMATE OFFICE .................................................................................. 99 OFFICE OF THE STATE CLIMATOLOGIST, TEXAS .................................................................. 102 UTAH CLIMATE CENTER ................................................................................................................. 105 5 VERMONT STATE CLIMATE OFFICE ........................................................................................... 108 VIRGINIA CLIMATOLOGY OFFICE ............................................................................................... 110 OFFICE OF THE WASHINGTON STATE CLIMATOLOGIST .................................................... 113 WEST VIRGINIA STATE CLIMATE OFFICE................................................................................. 116 WYOMING STATE CLIMATE OFFICE ........................................................................................... 118 NOAA 2018 United States Climate Summary ...................................................................................... 122 2018 Regional Center Summaries ......................................................................................................... 125 2018 Current AASC State Climatologists/ Directors ........................................................................... 147 6 ABOUT THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE CLIMATOLOGISTS The American Association of State Climatologists (AASC) is a professional scientific organization composed of state climatologists (one per state), directors of the six Regional Climate Centers and associate members who are persons interested in the goals and activities of the Association. State Climatologists are individuals who have been identified by a state entity as the state's climatologist and who are also recognized by the Director of the National Climatic Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as the state climatologist of a particular state. State Climatologists currently exist in 48 states and Puerto Rico. They are typically either employees of state agencies or are staff members of state-supported universities.