Risk Communication: The Role of the South Carolina State Climatology Office

Abstract

The federally supported state climatologist program ended in 1972. Thereafter, most states supported these endeavors in coordination with the National Climatic Data Center, but the current state programs vary widely. One of the functions of state climate programs that evolved since 1972 is acting as a liaison between the National Weather Service and various state agencies. This role is most apparent and controversial in coordinating state and local government response to severe weather and extreme climate anomalies such as drought, flood, winter storms, and tropical cyclones. The activities of the climate office in South Carolina during Hurricane Hugo in September 1989 and the October 1990 floods reveal how these interactions occur in one state that mandated these activities. The state climate office had to react to shifting weather conditions and to variable political conditions that affect public organizations. The climate office in South Carolina acts to interpret weather information, develop scenarios and predictions, and to assist in postevent damage surveys. This review is presented to acknowledge and document the expanding role of the state climate office in South Carolina in response to state and local government needs for weather forecast interpretation and expert guidance in the event of severe weather.