Vol. 2026, Issue 5
May 22, 2026
Timely Topics
If you plan to attend the 2026 AASC Annual Meeting, now is the time to register. In fact, today (May 22nd) is the last day of early bird registration. After today, all registration categories will increase by $50. To register for the Annual Meeting (in person and virtual), go to this link.
For more information on the Annual Meeting, please see the “2026 Annual Meeting Update” section of this newsletter.
The AASC is always looking for more volunteers to help the Association achieve its mission and serve the applied and service climate community better. If you are interested in potentially being a future officer, reach out to Lesley Ann Dupigny-Giroux, Chair of the AASC Nominations Committee at ldupigny@uvm.edu. Also, our ARSCO Committee is looking to add one or two more members. Please reach out to Pam Knox at pnknox@yahoo.com if you’re interested in joining that committee now or in the future.
President's Corner
Dear AASC Colleagues,
This month, I’d like to bring to your attention two high priority requests. The first is a reminder about our upcoming AASC 2026 Annual Meeting coming up June 23-27 in Fairbanks, AK. Please attend and participate if possible. There is a virtual registration option for those of you unable to make the trip. Information on registration and meeting logistics are available on our AASC Annual Meeting website.
Second, NOAA has recently published two Requests for Comment (RFC) on issues very relevant to our community. The RFCs solicit public and stakeholder input regarding its plans to modernize the Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) and updates to the Climate Prediction Center’s Monthly and Seasonal Drought Outlooks. COOP is a key and critical component of our nation’s climate data and information resources, and drought monitoring is an important climate service provided by many of our members and organizations. The AASC Executive Council strongly urges you to respond to both RFCs and provide feedback both as individuals and collectively as providers of climate services. All feedback and comments will be accepted until June 8, 2026 for the COOP RFC and June 11, 2026 for the drought outlook RFC.
– Jeff Andresen
Michigan SC and AASC President
Membership dues... again!
We are closing in on the deadline to renew AASC memberships for 2026. Remember that only current members of the AASC may vote in upcoming officer elections and AASC business matters at the Annual Meeting. Your membership dues also help our organization advocate for climate services and provides you access to features like the AASC listserv. In order to ensure an orderly voting process at the annual meeting, we are asking that you renew your dues no later than June 1st. Here is the schedule for membership dues:
- Charter Organizations (SCs and RCC Directors): $100 (link)
- Members: $40 (link)
- Student Members: $20 (link)
- Institutional and Corporate Members: Please contact Melissa Griffin, Treasurer of the AASC, at treasurer@stateclimate.org to inform her of your interest in becoming an institutional or corporate member
AASC Member Spotlight
This month’s member spotlight is currently the longest serving State Climatologist in the AASC: Dave Robinson of New Jersey.
Name: Dave Robinson
Hometown: Tenafly, New Jersey
Title: Distinguished Professor & New Jersey State Climatologist
Affiliation: Rutgers University
Current Residence: Somerset, NJ
Time in Current Position: 38 years (Professor); 35 years (State Climatologist)
Previous Jobs/Career: Associate Scientist, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
Research Interests: Snow cover kinematics and the role of snow cover in the climate system; polar climates in general; applied climatology-more specifically anything associated with New Jersey; climate data records
Education: B.S. from Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA); M.S. and PhD from Columbia University
Family/Pets: Missy Holzer (wife), Doug and Drew (sons), their wives, and five grandchildren ages 3-7
Hobbies: Traveling, hiking, biking, kayaking, cross-country skiing, keeping weather/climate records and an eye on anything within this realm.
Sports Teams I Root For: Any Rutgers team, Yankees, football Giants, Devils, Knicks
Fun Fact(s) About Me: Longest serving state climatologist (past/present); have sung/soloed in musicals, church choirs, and even a 50s group; born on Friday the 13th (been told that explains everything!)
My Most Memorable Weather Event: Wow, a tough question for a weather/climate geek. I guess in both professional and personal senses it would be Sandy in 2012. Runners up would be a multitude of snowstorms over the years.
What AASC Means to Me: Long my favorite professional organization, the AASC has provided me with opportunities to become a better state climatologist, to gather ideas for state climate office operations, to assume leadership roles/experience, and, most of all, to interact and establish life-long friendships with many wonderful individuals.
Committee Updates
ARSCO Committee
The ARSCO Committee has only received annual ARSCO reports from 23 states. These were due at the end of April. Please remember that in order to maintain your office’s ARSCO status, you must submit an annual report. If you haven’t done so already, please try to submit your report as soon as possible to maintain your ARSCO status.
Communications Committee
The Communications Committee needs your input to re-imagine the association’s website. To help with this effort, a website survey will be distributed via the AASC listserv in the coming weeks, followed by a brief discussion during the AASC Annual Meeting in Fairbanks. Please be on the lookout for the survey in your inboxes. We need your ideas, and we look forward to receiving lots of feedback!
Member News
(North Carolina) Dr. Jared Bowden has been named the Director of the North Carolina State Climate Office and State Climatologist of North Carolina.
(Arizona) Dr. Erinanne Saffell announced her retirement from Arizona State University earlier this month. She is also stepping down from the state climatologist position. No decision has been made on her successor, but the Arizona State Climate Office will remain operational until a new state climatologist is chosen.
(NCEI) NOAA NCEI is transitioning to the cloud! Over the next 10 months, all of our data, products, and services will migrate from physical servers located in Asheville, NC and Boulder, CO to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud. More information on the cloud migration and how it will affect the services provided by NCEI can be found here.
Have a story you’d like to share about your organization? Please submit your idea to us here.
Trivia!
Who doesn’t enjoy weather and climate trivia? Certainly not the AASC! Lets see if you can solve this month’s trivia questions from the AASC Newsletter’s Trivia Master, Matt Sittel:
1. Eight states recorded their warmest April in NCEI history last month. Which two adjacent states shared the honor of having the highest departure from normal last month (based on 1901-2000 data) at +8.3°F?
a. Illinois and Missouri
b. Indiana and Ohio
c. Kentucky and Tennessee
d. Virginia and West Virginia
2. Two adjacent states recorded their wettest April on record this year. Which two?
a. Michigan and Wisconsin
b. Iowa and Missouri
c. Illinois and Indiana
d. New York and Pennsylvania
3. An impressive late-season snow event dumped heavy snow on the Colorado Rockies in early May. To the nearest inch, what was the highest storm total reported from this event, measured by a CoCoRaHS observer near Estes Park?
4. So far in 2026 (as of May 11), Illinois has the most tornadoes reported at 119, well ahead of second-place Mississippi at 78. Including 2026, how many consecutive years has Illinois recorded at least 100 tornadoes?
5. Thinking ahead to next month’s AASC annual meeting, what are the average high and low in Fairbanks, AK on June 25th?
a. 67° / 46°
b. 70° / 48°
c. 74° / 53°
d. 77° / 54°
See answers to this month’s trivia questions at the bottom of the newsletter!
Contact the AASC
°Have a suggestion for the newsletter? Then contact the AASC Communications Committee at communications@stateclimate.org.
For general inquiries about the AASC, contact the AASC Secretary at secretary@stateclimate.org.
Visit the AASC on the web at https://stateclimate.org!
Trivia Question Answers: 1) B. Indiana and Ohio | 2) A. Michigan (state average 6.20″) and Wisconsin (6.53″) | 3) 34 inches. The reported total was 33.9″. | 4) 4 years. 138 in 2023, 139 in 2024, 147 in 2025, and 119 so far in 2026 | 5) C. 74° / 53°