Climate and weather information sources
As with any agricultural business management decision made, a range of factors including the current seasonal climate outlook, cropping sequences, finances, soil characteristics, weed management, input costs, commodity prices, work force, pasture availability and the level of moisture in the soil profile should be taken into account.
With increasing financial pressure and competition for markets, the ability to reduce the impacts for weather and climate related events are an important component of farm risk management. New information and decision support tools now make it possible to reduce the risks from climate variability.
For more detailed information on the seasonal outlook try the web sites listed below or contact us through the DPI Business Information Centre on 13 25 23 (Qld residents only) or on (07) 3404 6999.
Internet search help
Key words:
Climate
Meteorology
El Niņo
La Niņa
Sea Surface Temperature
Climate Change
Climate + Greenhouse
Climate and climate forecasts
The climate is defined as the long term or prevailing weather conditions at a particular location. Large scale atmospheric and ocean systems create climate conditions rather than smaller, short lived, local systems that bring about daily variations. The difference between weather and climate has been described as: 'Climate is what you should be getting; weather is what you are actually getting!'
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/climate
The Queensland Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries (DPI&F) climate web site containing the 'Current Climate Note' and other updates including the latest on the SOI, rainfall probabilities for Queensland and Australia. Includes information on sea surface temperatures, regional crop outlooks and information on services, workshops and products.
http://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au
The Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy climate web site. Contains detailed information on the current climate situation including Sea Surface Temperatures (SST), value of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), recent rainfall events, seasonal outlooks, drought maps and pasture growth forecasts.
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate
The Bureau of Meteorology web pages contains information on the current season, climate forecasts, climate averages and extremes, climate change, climate data, climate model outputs and precipitation and temperature seasonal outlooks.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/
The Climate Prediction Centre (CPC) in the United States has a very useful internet site for monitoring conditions (eg westerly wind bursts, Kelvin wave activity, sea surface and sub-surface temperatures etc) in the Pacific. ENSO Diagnostics Discussion in the Climate Highlights section is highly recommended for those interested in progress of El Niņo/La Niņa state.
http://iri.ldeo.columbia.edu/
International Research Institute providing precipitation and temperature seasonal forecasts for Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, North America, Pacific Islands and South America. The site also has a large number of technical reports, information on the state of ENSO, summary of recent climate events and impacts and has a strong focus on capacity building and education.
http://www.noaa.gov/
A huge US site containing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) services and data. Includes information on current weather watches and warnings, hurricanes, tornadoes, tides and currents, buoys, nautical and aeronautical charts, real-time satellite imagery, environmental, geostationary and polar satellites, El Niņo & La Niņa, global warming, drought, climate prediction, archived weather data, paleoclimatology and current research on air quality, atmospheric processes and climate and human interactions.
http://www.met-office.gov.uk/research/hadleycentre/index.html
The Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research provides a focus in the United Kingdom for the scientific issues associated with climate change. The site contains a quality summary of their climate forecast system and forecast/model outputs with a focus on understanding with the aim of predicting the natural interannual to decadal variability of climate.
http://www.ecmwf.int/
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is an international organisation supported by 25 European States, based in the United Kingdom. The site provides medium range weather forecasts, ocean analysis, seasonal forecasts, data services and links to the sites of the member countries.
http://www.acmad.ne/
ACMAD is the Centre for Applications of Meteorology and Climate for Sustainable Development of Africa located in Niamey (Niger). The focus is on the sustainable development of various socio-economic sectors of Africa. The site provides short/medium term weather forecasts, seasonal climate outlooks and forecasts and information on their application and the development and transfer of new technologies.
http://airsea-www.jpl.nasa.gov/ENSO/welcome.html
NASA sensors help to monitor global climate changes. NASA scientists study seasonal-to-interannual climate anomalies, such as El Niņo that have far reaching ecological and economical impacts. This home page provides updated information on NASA's contribution in monitoring the evolution of El Niņo and its climatic consequences.
www.greenhouse.gov.au/
The Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) is the Federal Government department responsible for scientific data collection, impacts studies and policy development to do with climate change and Greenhouse. Lots of useful information at all levels on the science and policy of climate change and carbon abatement for businesses and householders.
http://www.gcrio.org/
The US Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO) provides access to data and information on global environmental change research, adaptation/mitigation strategies and technologies, and global change related educational resources from a US perspective.
Weather
The weather is defined as the current or short-term state of the atmosphere and is described by measurement of barometric pressure, wind speed, precipitation, temperature, humidity and cloud cover. There are lots of sites for regional and state scale weather information from both Australia and overseas. Try out a few of the following:
www.bom.gov.au
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) web site. This a comprehensive site containing daily forecasts, maps, satellite images, historical records, warnings, educational information, climate outlooks, averages (temp, rainfall) for different locations etc.
http://www.australianweathernews.com/ A great Australian weather web site well also worth a look with a lot of weather related information including a 7 day forecast, reports on extreme climate and weather events. A big advantage of this site is that it states where the information used comes from which is not the case with many "weather" sites. To get to 7 day consensus forecasts click on http://www.australianweathernews.com/forecast_OCF.htm
https://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/PUBLIC/
This is a US Navy site that provides information on meteorology, oceanography and climatology. It also has links to the latest global satellite images and provides a 6day outlook for a number of countries and regions including Australia. To get to the 6day outlook for Australia run the mouse over the word "Meteorology" in the bottom left hand corner, then click on WXMAP. A number of labels with different countries names comes up, so click on the "Australia N.Z." tag on the right hand side of the page. The click on the "all" tag in the table beside the product label "Previous 12-hr Precipitation Rate [mm/12hr] and Sea Level Pressure [hPa]".
http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/ausavnpanel4.html 9day forecast from German model. Take care of using forecasts past day 6.
http://www.eldersweather.com.au/ A different approach has been taken with presenting some of the weather information on this site. For example rainfall forecasts on a daily basis are shown as the chance or probability of rain eg 20% and a likely amount eg <1mm and hopefully this style of forecast will become more common. The site is produced by The Weather Company based on data from the Bureau of Meteorology. Take care with some of the "long lead" climate and weather forecasts (more than 3 months for climate and 5 days for weather).
http://marlin.jcu.edu.au/JCUMetSat/web/metsat.html
The James Cook University Metsat web site shows unique satellite images from the Japanese GMS satellite. Updated daily and provides detailed coloured images of current as well as recent weather events.
http://wxmaps.org/pix/prec7.html
Temperature and precipitation modelled outlooks for a number of countries (including Australia) showing 0-5 and 6-10 day outlooks plus 10-day anomalies.
http://australiasevereweather.com/
The Australian severe weather site highlights tropical cyclones, tornadoes and lightning data, techniques for weather observation and has links to weather charts, satellite pictures and a gallery of weather and cloud photographs.
http://www.benfieldhrc.org/
Benfield Hazard Research Centre based at University College London is focused on natural hazard and risk research, practice, and innovation from the academic environment to the business world and government and comprises three groups: Geological Hazards, Meteorological Hazards & Seasonal Forecasting, and Disaster Studies & Management. Interesting section on cyclone risk for Australia.
http://www.wmo.ch/index-en.html
The United Nations voice on the state and behaviour of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources. A large source of information and links to other sites of member nations.
Other Services
30Day SOI Update
The 30day average of the SOI hotline is an updated daily telephone message containing the 30day average of the SOI as well as the current SOI phase. Ring (07) 46881439. Normal telephone charges apply.
SOI Phone Hotline
The DPI&F phone hotline is a recorded telephone message containing the general climate forecast for the state including up to date information on the SOI, SSTs, rainfall forecasts and the 40-day wave. Ring 07-4688 1623. Normal telephone charges apply.
Rainman StreamFlow
A CD based software package of rainfall information designed to assist in the management of rainfall variability. It contains historical long-term daily and monthly rainfall data for 3700 rainfall locations around Australia. It allows users to calculate chances of monthly and seasonal rain, display historical data as tables or graphs, and use the SOI to forecast seasonal rain, dry periods and effective rain at your location. For more information or to order, contact the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries on 07 4688 1200.
Weather by Fax
Products from the BoM fax service includes weather maps, storm information, flood warnings, radar interpretations, cyclone maps, 3 month climate outlooks, SOI, rainfall and temperature forecasts and summaries, marine forecasts and satellite pictures. The farm weather directory lists services for particular farming regions and industries including Crops and Grain, Grasslands, Tropical Cane Fields, Beef and Cotton, Cattle and Cane. Freepoll 1800 061 434 for the Queensland directory.
DroughtPlan
A CD based software package aimed at developing profitable and sustainable grazing strategies to manage for rainfall variability. Comprises a number of products including BB-Safe, Graze On, Pasture Supply and Demand Evaluator, and the Assessing Your Livestock Management Option. For more information or to order, contact the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries on 07 4688 1200.
Whopper Cropper
A CD based software package bringing together seasonal outlook information and crop simulation modelling to give users an insight into the impact of different crop management practices. The software contains reference to 7 crops over 16 regions stretching from northern NSW to central Queensland. The new version of Whopper Cropper allows users to nominate their own costs and returns to determine gross margins associated with different scenarios. For further information contact Howard Cox Toowoomba DPI&F on (07)46881381.
