California Drought 2014 Service Assessment

After soliciting feedback from more than 100 stakeholders and employees, NOAA released a service assessment on May 11, 2015, that identifies tactics and strategies the agency can take to better provide California decision makers with the scientific data and tools they need to lessen the impacts of extreme drought.

The NOAA California Drought Service Assessment contains more than three dozen findings and recommendations which may lead to improved or more tailored data products and tools, such as weather forecasts, streamflow forecasts, seasonal predictions, and climate models. The report also examines NOAA’s coastal stewardship mandates and ecosystem research services, noting best practices and identifying areas for partnerships and collaboration, as well as research questions NOAA scientists should consider pursuing.