CLIMPROB - SOFTWARE FOR ASSISTING CLIMATE-RELATED DECISION-MAKING

Agricultural decisionmakers often base climate-related decisions solel y on experience, Ideally, these management decisions should be based o n quantifiable information, obtained by examination of long-term clima tological records, The need to quickly and easily quantify climatic in formation was the primary incentive for the development of ClimProb (s hort for climatological probabilities). ClimProb, a PC-based IBM-compa tible software package, is a tool that helps guide decisions by develo ping probabilities of climatic events based on the climatological hist ory of a particular weather station, This software package allows tile user to choose from 17 temperature options, six precipitation options , and eight degree day options, ClimProb's design is unique in two way s, First, the user defines a time window specific to a particular appl ication, Second, the user chooses values for thresholds, accumulations , acid extremes related to this application. ClimProb's tabular output can be saved or printed, Tt can also be graphically represented as a time series, cumulative probability distribution, or histogram, There are over 800 data sets for tile 48 contiguous states available for use in ClimProb. Originally developed for extension education, the softwa re now has broader applications including research, classroom instruct ion, and service/outreach.