The Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP), a NOAA RISA team, is pleased to announce the expansion of the Simple Planning Tool to Texas. The tool, previously available in Oklahoma and Arkansas, assists planners, emergency managers, and decision makers in Texas who are assessing their long-term climate risks, both historically and in the future. The tool was primarily designed for decision makers who serve small- to medium-sized communities but may also be of interest to those who serve larger areas. The Simple Planning Tool for Texas Climate Hazards is a compilation of relatively easy-to-use online interactive tools, maps, and graphs relevant to 17 hazards: 14 climate hazards and 3 non-climate hazards. Users can access and obtain locally relevant data from the provided links and instructions. It also provides information on data limitations and a state-of-the-science summary on projected future trends for each hazard. Finally, appendices include hazard definitions and descriptions, historical FEMA/presidential disaster declarations, climate change science and projection resources, and incentive and action programs for hazard risk reduction. While it may not answer every question one has about hazard climatologies and future trends, it aims to cut through the internet clutter and point to relatively simple data tools that can be used during planning processes and in plans.
For more information, contact Genie Bey.
