On May 30th, COAPS scientists released their fifth annual Atlantic hurricane season forecast. Hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30.  

This year's forecast calls for a 70 percent probability of 12 to 17 named storms, including 5 to 10 hurricanes. The mean forecast is 15 named storms, including 8 hurricanes, and an average accumulated cyclone energy (a measure of the strength and duration of storms accumulated during the season) of 135. The forecast numbers are based on 50 individual seasonal atmospheric forecasts using sea surface temperatures predicted by a recently upgraded National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate model.  

For more information on the forecast, please feel free to read the news story at: http://coaps.fsu.edu/hurricanes 

Please, take a couple of minutes and step through the websites created by The Florida Division of Emergency Management. Based on your needs and responses, a checklist and additional information will better help you prepare.  

Create a Hurricane Plan for:  

Your Family: http://www.floridadisaster.org/family/    

Your Business: http://www.floridadisaster.org/business/   

You can find the contact information for your County Emergency Management Office here: http://www.floridadisaster.org/County_EM/county_list.htm 

The Southeast Climate Consortium (SECC) held its annual program review on May 15-17 at Savannah, Georgia. The SECC is a partnership of eight universities in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas that works to bring information on climate variability and change and climate forecasting to better use in the management of agriculture and natural resources. State Climatologist David Zierden attended the meeting along with others from the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies. Highlights of the meeting included presentations on the latest research and applications, breakout session planning research activities in agriculture, climate sciences, and water and coastal resources. There was also a special trip to the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and a low county boil on the last evening.  

Photos are available here: https://www.facebook.com/southeastclimateconsortium  

Toward the middle of May, Assistant State Climatologist Melissa Griffin attended the annual planning meeting of the WERA 1012 group in Estes Park, Colorado. The working group, which is associated with the Association of Public and Land-Grant University (APLU) system, is tasked with managing and utilizing precipitation observations from volunteer networks. WERA 1012's primary focus is to promote, improve, educate and conduct research within the collaborative group from land grant universities across the U.S. Ms. Griffin currently serves as the state coordinator for the Florida Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) and served as the Chair of the WERA group, along with continuing to act as chair of the Training and Education sub-committee. Ms. Griffin will spend the next year (2013-2014) working on a variety of projects as part of this corporative effort.

On May 23rd, Assistant State Climatologist Melissa Griffin attended Career Day at Stars Middle School in Tallahassee, FL. As part of her presentation, Ms. Griffin highlighted the reason why she became interested in meteorology, her favorite part of being a meteorologist, and what courses she had to take in college. Ms. Griffin quizzed the students about weather instrument, and the students asked questions about what jobs are available to a meteorologist. The students who took part in her presentation also asked about the recent Moore, Oklahoma, tornado and what it's like to be a storm spotter.

David Zierden and Melissa Griffin with the Florida Climate Center are collaborating with the Florida Department of Health on a project involving climate variability, climate change, and public health in Florida. The project is called Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) and is receiving multi-year funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The project kicked off with a meeting of the technical advisory committee (chaired by David Zierden) on May 29th in Tallahassee. The meeting included an overview of the project, along with technical presentations on Florida's current and projected climate, sources of public health data, and impacts of temperature on heat-related illness. The Florida Climate Center will be assisting in the preparation of a climate and health profile report and examining how various aspects of climate change can impact public health and disease risks.