Climate Normals and Engagement with Energy Industry

During April 2012, NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites - North Carolina and NOAA's National Climatic Data Center engaged in a workshop targeted for the energy industry executives to discuss climate normals and new alternatives for climate normals for the energy industry. In doing so, this workshop was intended to foster an open dialogue between the needs of the industry, the regulatory community, and the roles and needs of the research and scientific community. Over the course of the two-day discussion, presenters scientists discussed the changing climatic normals, alternative options such as statistical normals, and gathered needs and requirements from the energy industry. This discussion shares the process of developing a relevant agenda topic to target energy executives, the information gathered during the workshop, the outcomes and responses to address the implications of using traditional normals, and discuss the options of providing statistical normals.