OREGON CLIMATE SERVICE

The Oregon Climate Service (OCS) has been a part of the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences (COAS) at Oregon State University for a number of years. The OCS has a long history with COAS and the State of Oregon to act as the State Climate Office and maintain and provide historical weather and climate information.

Most states have a state climate office to perform these functions for their respective states and most are lead by a State Climatologist. Many of these offices are located at the Land Grant University of each state, and the State Climatologist is typically a faculty member at the University. Dr. Philip Mote acts as the Director of OCS.

OCS was absorbed by OCCRI, recognizing that climate research has a past and future component. One of the functions of the Oregon Climate Service has always been to educate the public on current and emerging climate issues, which aligns with the mission of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute.

OCS will continue to maintain the following functions under the OCCRI umbrella:

• to collect, maintain and distribute Oregon weather and climate data
• to educate Oregonians on current and emerging climate issues
• to perform research related to climate issues

Each month, the Oregon Climate Service produces a monthly newsletter. This is distributed to interested parties and summarizes the previous month’s significant (or lack thereof) weather events and addresses other climatological issues.

Oregon Climate Service is a liaison to the National Climatic Data Center, the Western Regional Climate Center and the American Association of State Climatologists.