National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Program Center Fort Collins, Colorado Weather and Climate Inventory National Park Service Northern Colorado Plateau Network Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCPN/NRTR—2006/002 ON THE COVER Hickman Bridge—Capitol Reef National Park Photograph copyrighted by Jim Ashby Weather and Climate Inventory National Park Service Northern Colorado Plateau Network Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCPN/NRTR—2006/002 WRCC Report 06-03 Christopher A. Davey, Kelly T. Redmond, and David B. Simeral Western Regional Climate Center Desert Research Institute 2215 Raggio Parkway Reno, Nevada 89512-1095 August 2006 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Program Center Fort Collins, Colorado The Natural Resource Publication series addresses natural resource topics that are of interest and applicability to a broad readership in the National Park Service and to others in the management of natural resources, including the scientific community, the public, and the National Park Service conservation and environmental constituencies. Manuscripts are peer-reviewed to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. The Natural Resource Technical Reports series is used to disseminate the peer-reviewed results of scientific studies in the physical, biological, and social sciences for both the advancement of science and the achievement of the National Park Service’s mission. The reports provide contributors with a forum for displaying comprehensive data that are often deleted from journals because of page limitations. Current examples of such reports include the results of research that addresses natural resource management issues; natural resource inventory and monitoring activities; resource assessment reports; scientific literature reviews; and peer reviewed proceedings of technical workshops, conferences, or symposia. Views and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect policies of the National Park Service. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the National Park Service. Printed copies of reports in these series may be produced in a limited quantity and they are only available as long as the supply lasts. This report is also available from the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/NRPM ) on the Internet or by sending a request to the address on the back cover. Please cite this publication as follows: Davey, C. A., K. T. Redmond, and D. B. Simeral. 2006. Weather and Climate Inventory, National Park Service, Northern Colorado Plateau Network. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCPN/NRTR— 2006/002. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS/NCPN/NRTR—2006/002, August 2006 ii Table of Contents Page Figures ................................................................................................................................ v Tables ............................................................................................................................... vi Appendixes ..................................................................................................................... vii Acronyms ....................................................................................................................... viii Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... x Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... xii 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Network Terminology .......................................................................................... 3 1.2 Weather versus Climate Definitions .................................................................... 4 1.3 Purpose of Measurements .................................................................................... 4 1.4 Design of a Climate-Monitoring Program ........................................................... 5 2.0 Climate Background .................................................................................................. 10 2.1 Climate and the NCPN Environment ................................................................. 10 2.2 Spatial Variability .............................................................................................. 11 2.3 Temporal Variability .......................................................................................... 20 2.4 Parameter Regression on Independent Slopes Model ........................................ 24 3.0 Methods ..................................................................................................................... 25 3.1 Metadata Retrieval ............................................................................................. 25 3.2 Criteria for Locating Stations ............................................................................. 28 4.0 Station Inventory ....................................................................................................... 29 4.1 Climate and Weather Networks ......................................................................... 29 4.2 Station Lists ....................................................................................................... 32 iii Table of Contents (continued) Page 4.3 Station Locations ............................................................................................... 40 5.0 Conclusions and Recommendations ......................................................................... 49 5.1 Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory and Monitoring Network ....................... 49 5.2 Spatial Variations in Mean Climate ................................................................... 50 5.3 Climate Change Detection ................................................................................. 51 5.4 Aesthetics ........................................................................................................... 51 5.5 Information Access ............................................................................................ 51 5.6 Summarized Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................. 52 6.0 Literature Cited ......................................................................................................... 53 iv Figures Page Figure 1.1. Map of the Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory and Monitoring Network .......................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2.1. Mean annual precipitation, 1961–1990, within the NCPN region ............... 13 Figure 2.2. Mean July precipitation, 1961–1990, within the NCPN region ................... 15 Figure 2.3. Mean monthly precipitation at CANY and NABR ...................................... 16 Figure 2.4. Mean monthly precipitation at TICA ........................................................... 17 Figure 2.5. Mean annual temperature, 1961–1990, within the NCPN region ................ 18 Figure 2.6. Mean January minimum temperature, 1961–1990, within the NCPN region ............................................................................................................19 Figure 2.7. Mean July maximum temperature, 1961–1990, within the NCPN region .. 20 Figure 2.8. Colorado Drainage Basin (S) Division 12-month precipitation ending in December (red), 10-year running mean (blue), mean (green), and plus/minus one standard deviation (green dotted), 1895–2005 ................... 21 Figure 2.9. Twelve-month average temperature ending in December (red), 10-year running mean (blue), mean (green), and plus/minus one standard deviation (green dotted line), 1895-2005, for southeastern Utah (a) and for the northern Wasatch Range (b) ........................................................................ 22 Figure 2.10. Twelve-month average precipitation ending in December (red), 10-year running mean (blue), mean (green), and plus/minus one standard deviation (green dotted line), 1895-2005, for southeastern Utah (a) and for the northern Wasatch Range (b) ........................................................................ 23 Figure 4.1. Station locations for the northern park units in NCPN, including DINO, FOBU, GOSP, and TICA ............................................................................. 42 Figure 4.2. Station locations for the eastern park units in NCPN, including BLCA, COLM, and CURE ....................................................................................... 44 Figure 4.3. Station locations for the southern park units in NCPN ................................ 48 v Tables Page Table 1.1. Park units in NCPN .......................................................................................... 3 Table 3.1. Primary metadata fields with explanations, as appropriate, for the inventory of weather and climate stations within NCPN ............................................... 25 Table 3.2. Sources of weather and climate metadata for NCPN ..................................... 27 Table 4.1. Weather/climate networks represented within NCPN ..................................