Climate Links for the Southeast
To understand the biodiversity in the Southeast, and to gain insight into the threats to biodiversity there, one needs an understanding of climate changes and current conditions. These are a few resources I found to be helpful:
Southeast Regional Climate Center (SERCC)
The Southeast Regional Climate Center has a ton of climate resources, and is a user-friendly and informative site established by UNC Chapel Hill. This site has a broad collection of climate data focused specifically on the Southeast.
Their "Climate Perspectives Tool" is interactive and allows the user to look at different variables across the region on specific dates, both observed and predicted.
This is really a one-stop shop for the Southeast climate data. It also includes links to other data sources, and most of its maps are provided by NOAA or are made from data extracted from NOAA. It was interesting to look at the precipitation maps and compare them from 2002 (earliest date possible) to 2023. The increase in precipitation in the southeastern states was drastic!
SERCC also includes interesting features like access to active and ongoing citizen science projects related to climate, climate prediction models and other climate research, and resources for education and outreach.
NOAA OneStop
NOAA OneStop is a comprehensive tool that includes access to a broad array of NOAA environmental data like climate, oceans, weather, and other physical data. The maps provided typically also include a summary of what exactly you're looking at, and the capability to export data files in multiple formats, and detailed metadata as needed.
National Weather Service
Most of us are probably familiar with this one, but the National Weather Service (NWS) website offers weather forecasts, radar and satellite imagery, interactive maps for multiple weather variables (precipitation, temperature, wind), and access to historic and current climate summaries.
Drought.gov
The key features of Drought.gov include current drought maps current conditions, and drought impact reports. In addition, it includes educational resources and guidance for citizens to help with drought preparedness and management, like this guide, Drought Planning in the Southeast United States. They also have monthly webinars, which give an overview of drought conditions and the general impacts on things like agriculture, water resources, and weather (from what I gather... my sound wasn't working for some reason!).
Climate Quick Reference Guides - USDA
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