Meeting the Needs of Data Users

A wide range of topics about the uses of NOAA’s environmental data are on the agenda of a two-day conference hosted by NCEI. Representatives from many commercial sectors and industries—from weather service providers to John Deere®—will add context to discussions about the value of the data and ideas for future uses.

The NCEI Users’ Conference, set for May 14-15, 2019, in Asheville, North Carolina, convenes NOAA scientists at NCEI who study weather and climate with those using its environmental information. The data are used in a variety of ways that support private enterprise as well as public needs and initiatives. In 2018, customers directly accessed more than 10 petabytes of environmental data online from NCEI. A petabyte is equal to 1 million gigabytes; data in a single petabyte equals about 3.4 years of 24/7 full high-definition video recording.

NCEI Users’ Conference Topics

The conference is designed to facilitate discussions about specific and appropriate uses of environmental information. The event is an avenue for both learning about data uses and providing input to improve or expand existing NCEI services and information.

Attendees will have opportunities to learn about new products and services from NCEI; help NCEI better understand current uses and applications by the public and private sector; submit feedback; and discuss needs and requirements for future development.

Opening remarks will be presented by Stephen Volz, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Satellite and Information Services, and Mary Wohlgemuth, Director of NOAA NCEI, followed by sessions covering these topics:

Day One, Tuesday, May 14

• Weather Service Providers

• Logistics and Transportation

• Agriculture

Day Two, Wednesday, May 15

• 1991–2020 Normals

• Finance and Insurance

Industry speakers will include those from:

• Acclimatise Group Ltd.

• BASF Chemical

• Bentley Systems, Inc.

• Black Hills Corp.

• Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

• The Weather Company (An IBM Company)

• John Deere®

• RenaissanceRe

• Service Systems Associates

• UPS

• Weather Predict Consulting Inc.

• Zipline International

Government and institutional participants include:

• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)

• National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC)

• National Weather Service

• Northeast Regional Climate Center

• The Collider

• USDA

The conference takes place at The Collider, 1 Haywood Rd., Asheville, North Carolina. For more information, email ncei.orders@noaa.gov.