Fall 2018 - Issue 1
USDA California Climate Hub
News & Notes
The USDA California Climate Hub within the Agricultural Research Service at the UC Davis John Muir Institute works with partners across federal and state agencies, universities, and industry to help enable climate-informed decision making and advance the adaptive capacity for California's working and managed agricultural, range, and forest lands. These monthly newsletters are just one approach toward meeting this objective. We encourage you to get in touch with us if we can be of further service or assistance.
Drought Monitor as of October 9th 2018
As we move into fall, the drought monitor remains unchanged across most of the state. September brought an increase in the area experiencing severe drought (D2) in the Klamath, and an increase in the area experiencing extreme drought (D3) in the southeastern corner of the state. Most of the Central Valley is currently abnormally dry (D0) and the northern Sierra are seeing normal conditions. You can click directly on the map above or the button below to access the US Drought Monitor (USDM) portal. For tutorials on understanding the USDM outputs click here for a link to the US Drought Mitigation Center's website. These maps are updated each Thursday, so be sure to consult the website for the latest on drought conditions for your region.
8-14 day Temperature and Precipitation Outlooks
As of October 12, the 8-14 day outlook across California shows a 60-70% chance of above normal temperatures .
As of October 12, the 8-14 day outlook shows near normal precipitation for most of the state.
Hot Off The Press:
California's Fourth Climate Change Assessment
California's Climate Assessments contribute to the science behind understanding climate change and its impacts, and provide information to inform policy and action to increase resiliency across the state. The Climate Hub's Steve Ostoja and Kerri Steenwerth both served as authors on the 4th Assessment, which was released on August 27th.
A Few Key Findings:
  • Water supply from snowpack will decline by two-thirds by 2050
  • Wildfire will burn increasing acreage in the coming decades
  • Heat waves will become more frequent and more extreme
  • More precipitation variability will mean more drought and more flooding
  • A number of adaptation and mitigation opportunities exist on California's working lands
Introducing our new Climate Hub and John Muir Institute postdoctoral scholar Dr. Lauren Parker
Lauren joined the USDA California Climate Hub and John Muir Institute of the Environment following a position as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Idaho, where she also earned her PhD. Lauren’s background is in geography and applied climate science, and she was previously supported by the USDA Northwest Climate Hub to examine how climate change may impact high-value perennials and to translate her work through web-based tools for climate-informed decision making. Here at the California Hub, Lauren will be working on issues at the intersection of perennial crops, drought, and climate change. She looks forward to connecting with and serving agricultural stakeholders in California. Lauren can be contacted directly at leparker@ucdavis.edu .

Educating the Next Generation on Climate Change Impacts to Agriculture and Water
For the educators among you, the Southwest Climate Hub and the Asombro Institute for Science Education have partnered to develop freely available curriculum covering the effects of climate change on agricultural systems and the water cycle. The units align with Common Core and Next Generation educational standards and are suitable especially to students in grades 6 - 12. As we move toward a California with warmer temperatures and more variable precipitation, the future adaptive capacity for our state's agriculture and water starts with educating the next generation of growers, scientists, policy makers, and resource managers. Check out the curriculum through the link below!
Save the Date:
Reforestation and
Natural Regeneration Symposium
Sacramento, CA - November 28th - 29th
The USFS - Region 5 and USDA California Climate Hub will be co-hosting a symposium on reforestation and natural forest regeneration in November at the wildland fire training center in Sacramento. Reforestation is a critically important management practice to protect and sustain forested ecosystems. In light of current trends in tree mortality and large fires it is important that managers have the best science and resources available. We encourage you to attend and to reach out with any questions.
Stay in Touch
Let me know if you have news worthy items, outputs or products, or associated resources that may be of interest to the USDA California Climate Hub community. You can email items to me, Steven Ostoja, USDA California Climate Hub Director by clicking here .