UPDATE Feb 2026: 2026 Subseasonal to Seasonal Analysis, Prediction, and Services Webinar Series
Announcement
We are pleased to announce the NOAA's Subseasonal to Seasonal (S2S) Analysis, Prediction, and Services virtual
seminar series that will showcase speakers from the postponed 2025 Joint Climate Diagnostics and Prediction Workshop
(CDPW) and Climate Predictions Applications Science Workshop (CPASW). The webinars will include both prediction and
services-related topics, including flash drought monitoring and prediction, heat wave prediction and attribution,
precipitation prediction, and the use of AI for hydroclimate monitoring and predictability. We will not be able to
record the webinars but will post the presentations online with author permission. Please fill out this Google form to receive information on
registration for the webinar.
Jason Otkin is an Associate Research Professor at the Space Science and Engineering Center at the
University of Wisconsin – Madison. He has used various observational and modeling datasets to
enhance our understanding of flash drought characteristics and to improve our ability to provide early
warning of their development. He has also held focus group meetings with farmers and ranchers across the
central U.S. to better understand their drought vulnerabilities and how they could use drought early
warning information when making their management decisions.
Jordan Christian is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of
North Dakota. His work explores subseasonal-to-seasonal weather and climate extremes, with a particular
emphasis on flash drought. He examines the frequency, evolution, drivers, and impacts of these events on
local to global scales, using a combination of reanalysis data, satellite observations, and climate
models.
Wed 3/25
2 pm Eastern
Webinar 2: Drought Monitor — Origins and Evolution
As director of the National Drought Mitigation Center's (NDMC) and a professor within the School of
Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Mark Svoboda administers and oversees the
center's staff and mission. Mark is a climatologist by training, and he works closely with federal,
tribal, state, basin, local and international officials and governments on drought monitoring early
warning information systems, science to policy applications, drought indicators and triggers, drought
impacts, drought risk management planning and collaborative research. Dr. Svoboda is the co-founder
(having served for 17 years as one of the principal authors) of the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor.
His work with the Core Team of the Western Governors' Association led to the development of a report and
recommendations on creating a National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) for the United
States. Svoboda is currently a sitting member of the National Integrated Drought Information System's
(NIDIS) Executive Council. He is also currently a member of the World Meteorological Organization and
Global Water Partnerships' Integrated Drought Management Programme's advisory panel.
Mark has served as a member of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification's (UNCCD)
Intergovernmental Working Group (IWG I) and Science Policy Interface (SPI) teams where he was a co-chair
for their drought working groups over two terms. He was also appointed by the U.S. Department of State to
serve as a delegate on the UNCCD's follow-on IWG II drought team. Dr. Svoboda continues to serve as the
drought preparedness working group co-leader for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's
Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG).
Dr. Svoboda is credited with coining the term "flash drought"; internationally known for his drought
monitoring/early warning and risk management work; and has been a keynote speaker, principal investigator,
consultant, advisory board member, or an invited expert for activities with over 75
countries/regions/organizations to date. His work and research in these areas have led to 86 peer-reviewed
journal papers and an additional 39 works including book chapters, reports and guidance documents. Mark's
bachelor's (Geography: meteorology minor and climate specialization), master's (Geography: Remote Sensing
and GIS specialization) and doctoral (Natural Resources: Human Dimensions) degrees were all obtained at
the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
Brian Fuchs is a faculty member and climatologist for the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) and
he oversees the Monitoring Program Area within the center. The NDMC is housed within the School of Natural
Resources at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Brian came to the School of Natural Resources in May
of 2000, working as a Climatologist for the High Plains Regional Climate Center. He started working with
the National Drought Mitigation Center in December 2005. As a Climatologist, Brian works on applied
research projects for the NDMC as well as authoring the United States Drought Monitor and the North
American Drought Monitor along with several others. The drought research concentrates on mitigation, risk
assessment, monitoring, impact, and reporting of drought. The applied research helps others to better
understand the impacts related to drought across a diverse group of industries from agriculture, energy,
tourism, transportation as well as social and environmental concerns. Brian was promoted to full faculty
status in 2022.
Thurs 4/9
3 pm Eastern
Webinar 3: AI to Advance Hydroclimate Monitoring and Prediction
Marybeth Arcodia is an Assistant Professor joint between the
Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Sciences Department of Atmospheric Sciences and the
Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing at the University of Miami. She is a member of the U.S.
CLIVAR Predictability, Predictions, and Applications Interface Panel and the Working Group on Climate Data
and Predictions for Coastal Solutions.
Advancing Real-Time Flood Monitoring using Artificial Intelligence to Improve Hydroclimate Decision Support
Ehsan Bhuiyan, NWS Climate Prediction Center/ERT
Dr. Ehsan Bhuiyan received his PhD in civil and environmental engineering from the University of
Connecticut. He is currently working as a hydrologist at NOAA, Climate Prediction Center (CPC), ERT. His
research focuses on the application of artificial intelligence in remote sensing, weather forecasting,
climate change prediction, and the modeling of hydro-meteorological processes. A significant portion of
his work is dedicated to AI-based flood modeling across multiple regions, including the northeastern
United States, as well as broader areas such as Central America, Central Asia, and Africa. Throughout his
career, he has led and contributed to research projects sponsored by NASA, NOAA, the National Science
Foundation (NSF), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS), among others. He has published over 25
peer-reviewed articles on his research.
Jon Gottschalck works at the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) within NOAA’s NWS. He is Chief of the Operational Prediction Branch at CPC and
is responsible for preparing and disseminating CPC operational S2S outlooks and prioritizing product development efforts. Prior to his current
position, he served as the CPC Head of Forecast Operations and the MJO operational team lead. Mr. Gottschalck led the planning, development and
implementation of the CPC Weeks 3-4 T/P outlooks beginning in 2015. He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in meteorology from the Pennsylvania State
University in 1994 and 1996. Prior to CPC, Mr. Gottschalck worked at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) at the University
of Miami from 1997-2001 and at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center from 2001-2004.
Dr. Li Xu is a leading drought expert at the international desk of NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) with over a decade of experience in development of
drought monitor and forecast, holding a Ph.D. in Climate Dynamics from George Mason University and an M.S. in Meteorology from the University of Utah. His research
and development are concentrated in utilizing land surface models to improve current state of art drought monitoring , to provide early detection of rapid drought
onset, to develop the deterministic or probabilistic drought outlook, and to provide early warning information to government, local stakeholders and international
users to better cope with drought.
Wed 5/13
2 pm Eastern
Webinar 5: Understanding and Preparing for Hazards and Extremes
Updates on NOAA's Rapid Attribution Capability: The July 2024 California Heat Wave
Carl Schreck, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Institute for Climate
Studies (NCICS), Cooperative Institute Satellite Earth System Studies (CISESS)
Carl Schreck is the Interim Associate Director for the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies at North Carolina
State University. His research identifies the large-scale climate drivers of tropical cyclones and climate extremes on scales of weeks to months.
Regional Climate Support for the L.A. 2028 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games
Andrea Bair, NWS Western Region
Andrea Bair is the Climate Services Program Manager and Public Program Manager for the NWS Western Region. Andrea has been with the National Weather Service for over
30 years, 25 of those years have been in Climate Services. She earned a B.S. degree in Atmospheric Sciences in 1996, and M.S. degree in Geography in 2008, both from
the University of Utah.
Wed 6/3
2 pm Eastern
Webinar 6: Observations, Model Analysis and Prediction
Advancing Useable Drought Prediction to Improve Urban Forest Ecosystem Drought Resilience
Trent Ford, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Role of Internal Variability in Forming the Moistening Hole in the Western U.S. over the Past Decades
Qinghua Ding, University of California Santa Barbara
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