Cooperation and Coordination among Federal Boundary Organizations in the Southern Great Plains in Response to Weather and Climate Extremes

The U.S. Southern Great Plains is frequently plagued by droughts, floods, wildfires, and a range of other weather and climate extremes. A timely, authoritative, and coordinated response by Federal agencies to these events is of value to the region's economic and environmental systems. The Southern Great Plains is served by three federally-funded climate boundary organizations: the NOAA Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program, the USDA Southern Plains Climate Hub, and the DOI South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center. All are headquartered within 30 miles of Oklahoma City, which has led to a natural partnership, despite the three programs fulfilling their missions across slightly varying regional geographies. In this paper, the means of collaboration between the three programs is discussed, with an emphasis on best practices for overcoming programmatic and logistical challenges when preparing for and responding to weather and climate extremes. Examples of how this partnership enables broad, shared benefits to both funding agencies and regional customers are presented.