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. Through these newsletters we share news and information of relevance and interest to our stakeholders. We encourage you to get in touch with us if we can be of further service or assistance.
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USDA California Climate Hub
News & Notes
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Current Drought Conditions, Temperature Outlook, and Consequences of Heat Extremes for California Agriculture
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Drought remains over Northern California, with extreme drought developing over the Klamath River basin, and severe drought extending along the North Coast and into the northern Sacramento Valley. Spring drought in Southern California abated during May, though with the recent heatwave and the onset of the dry season, drought may return to the southern part of the state in the coming weeks.
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This may be our Spring Issue 3, but it certainly has felt more like summer. As the state comes out of its first heatwave of the season, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center forecasts warmer than average temperatures for the coming weeks in Southern California, while NorCal is expected to get a bit of reprieve with normal or cooler-than-normal temperatures. NorCal is also
expecting precipitation in the coming days
, which will deliver much needed rain and usher in cooler temperatures, though the accompanying dry lightning is a concern as the fire season begins in earnest. The
National Interagency Fire Center is projecting above normal fire potential
for Northern California for June, though the central and southern coastal regions may see below normal fire weather.
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The late May heatwave was anomalously warm for the time of year and may be a harbinger of the temperatures that will be more frequent under climate change.
A recent paper
provides a brief review on some of the consequences of increased heat extremes for California agriculture, with a special focus on high-value perennial crops. While climate change and more frequent extreme heat will challenge California's fruit and nut production, adaptive solutions exist and research is being conducted to further the adaptive capacity of California agriculture to a warmer future.
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Drought Amelioration Outlook
The
California Nevada Climate Applications Program
, a
NOAA RISA
team, is developing an experimental product to provide a sub-seasonal scale (about 30 days in future) Drought Amelioration Outlook (DAO) for the California-Nevada region. The team is conducting a survey to understand how California- and Nevada-based stakeholders are using
climate and hydrologic forecasts
. The survey will also help identify decision makers that can potentially benefit from sub-seasonal forecasts and in the future provide important feedback as the DAO product is being developed.
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Burned is beautiful:
Surveys show people have a largely positive experience hiking through post-burned forest.
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In Case You Missed It
Patrick Doyle and Randy Striplin present
an overview of science-based, forest risk assessment tools and applications
for planning and decision support in the face of potential wildfire. The presenters discuss quantitative risk assessment methods, a suppression difficulty index, and tools that can be used for forest planning, project prioritization, and wildfire management.
The
Snowpack Reports from ARS
are used by water managers to make decisions around flood mitigation, reservoir operations, and power generation. Snowpack summary reports are available for the Kaweah, Kings, Lakes, Merced, San Joaquin, Tuolumne River basins from
ARS Watershed Management
.
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REMINDER: Calling all Viticulture Professionals!
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We are looking for viticulture professionals (growers, vineyard managers, farm advisors, technical service providers, and others) to participate in a survey on vineyard irrigation decisions during heatwaves. If you or someone you know fit this bill, click on the flyer image to the left for more information and please take the short survey linked below.
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Upcoming Events
June 9th, 2pm
Elizabeth Forrestel and colleagues will discuss a Climate Hub supported project on climate change and its effect on future planning in the vineyard. Zoom:
https://ucdavis.zoom.us/s/91740337428
Password: 867092
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Job Opportunities
The
USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station
in Albuquerque has announced an
Outreach Notice
for the future hire of a Program Manager of the Grassland, Shrubland and Desert Ecosystems Science Program (GSD). The incumbent is responsible for development and implementation of dryland ecosystems research and tool development by working with GSD scientists and staff and collaborating with federal and State agency managers, USDA Forest Service employees, universities and non-profit organizations, industry, and international colleagues. The position will be hired at the GS-15 level and is open to federal employees and the general public. For more information, see the Outreach Notice
here
.
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We encourage you to be in touch if we can be of service. Contact Hub Director
Steve Ostoja
or Hub Postdoctoral Fellow
Lauren Parker
, and check out our
website
for more information.
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USDA California Climate Hub | climatehubs.oce.usda.gov
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