New Tool: Simple Planning Tool for Oklahoma Climate Hazards

The Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP) is pleased to announce a new tool that will assist planners and emergency managers across the state of Oklahoma with assessing their long-term climate risks. It is called the Simple Planning Tool for Oklahoma Climate Hazards. In addition to the previous hyperlink, the tool is also available by clicking on the Data Tools tab on this website.

SCIPP has been actively involved with emergency management and planning sectors throughout the South Central U.S. over the past few years. Workshops and webinars held in Oklahoma and Arkansas brought together the two sectors and enhanced the natural hazard resilience discussions that were taking place at local, tribal and regional levels across each state. In a 2017 meeting in Oklahoma, decision makers identified the need for a tool to help them identify locally-relevant climate information that can be used in plans such as hazard mitigation plans, land use plans, comprehensive plans, etc. Meeting participants said that they did not always know where to find data and/or which organizations to trust. Based on this feedback, SCIPP developed the Simple Planning Tool for Oklahoma Climate Hazards.

Meetings with planners and emergency managers about increasing resilience led to the development of the Simple Planning Tool for Oklahoma Climate Hazards.
Meetings with planners and emergency managers about increasing resilience led to the development of the Simple Planning Tool for Oklahoma Climate Hazards.

The tool is a compilation of relatively easy-to-use online interactive tools, maps, and graphs that depict historical climatologies. It also provides state-of-the-science summaries regarding what is known about how each hazard is being and is expected to be impacted by climate change. It is primarily designed for planners and emergency managers who serve small- to medium-sized communities but may also be of interest to those who serve larger areas. 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.

SCIPP will now begin developing a version for Arkansas. Following the release of the Arkansas version, SCIPP will conduct research on how the tools are used in planning and decision making processes and their effectiveness in both states. If you are interested in providing information on your experience with the Simple Planning Tool, please contact scipp [at] southernclimate [dot] org.

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