NOAA/ESRL PSD Web-based Tools for Rapid Diagnosis and Assessment of Current Climate and Weather Events

Web based tools run in quasi-operational mode allow both NOAA and researchers to quickly relate current events to past events and to comment on their potential causes.   Weather events  such as heat waves, floods, and storms and climate events such as El Nino/La Nina and drought have substantial impacts on populations and on activities (such as farming, resource management).  We will highlight a subset of the tools that have been most used by the NWS  and NOAA more generally and a few tools that are new.  Among these tools are compositing applications, correlations (maps and time-series),  and ENSO risks.  Newer products include vertical profiles, weather data distributions, and custom climate animations.  The chief value of the products is that they allow users to easily and quickly put current events in a historical perspective. In addition, they also allow users to isolate potential features and causes of the current weather and climate events.  We will show how these have been used in actual application by NOAA.