North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies - NCICS

10/15/2026

Thanks to a $1.2 million award from NOAA, NCICS and partners at NC State will lead a new initiative to “connect science to action” and help people prepare for extreme weather.

The South Atlantic Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program will study flooding, extreme temperatures, drought, wildfire, and hurricanes—working directly with communities to create the tools they need to be more resilient.

In addition to partners at the State Climate Office and College of Engineering at NC State, NCICS researchers will also be working with collaborators at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Furman University, Georgia State University, the University of Georgia, and the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science.

Learn more:

North Carolina State University has been selected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to lead a new regional initiative helping communities across the South Atlantic prepare for extreme weather and disasters.

09/23/2026

As the second anniversary of Hurricane Helene approaches, a new story by Chris Saunders in the NC State University magazine highlights the work we do here at NCICS and explores how Helene affected our home region of Western North Carolina, our Institute, and several of our staff. Thanks to Chris, photographer Justin Cook, and the rest of the NC State Magazine team for taking the time to visit with us and for sharing our stories.

NC State’s North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies is lending a helping hand to business and infrastructure with climate data.

09/08/2026

NOAA webinar: “Flood Data in Action: Retailers Using Flood Data for Risk Management”
When: Sept. 17, 11 am ET
Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWwy7nqoSxi9v1ubVU8_YzHjke5Xg5ndljIKeP5JmZcf6MPg/viewform

Moderated by NCICS’ Jenny Dissen, this Industry Partnerships webinar showcases real-world examples of NOAA helping retailers improve risk management, streamline operations, and better prepare for flood events.

Gain insights into the flood and precipitation risks facing the sector and discover practical applications of for enterprise risk management.

Speakers:
* John Carr, Hannaford Supermarkets
* Chris Cameron, 7Analytics
* Staci Saint-Preux, StormGeo

Thank you for your interest in the 2026 Flood Data in Action: Retailers Using Flood Data for Risk Management webinar featuring 7Analytics, StormGeo, and Hannaford Supermarkets. The Industry Partnerships’ NOAA Flood Data in Action webinar showcases real-world applications of NOAA data helping retai...

08/24/2026

Jenny Dissen of NCICS will play a key role in the first-ever NOAA Industry Partnerships Summit, Sept. 1-3 in Silver Spring, MD.

Celebrating the success of NOAA’s Industry Partnerships program, the summit will bring together scientific experts with industry leaders from the Insurance and Reinsurance (Sept. 1), Architecture and Engineering (Sept. 2), and Retail and Supply Chain (Sept. 3) sectors. Dissen, retail sector lead for the Industry Partnerships program, will moderate Day 3 of the summit.

NOAA NCEI provides trusted environmental data about historical weather, climate, ocean, and magnetic field conditions to drive resilience and prosperity.

08/10/2026

NCICS's Laura Stevens wrote a blog post detailing her work as North America chapter editor for State of the Climate in 2025, out today from the American Meteorological Society. Read it here:
https://headlines.ametsoc.org/2026/08/07/state-of-the-climate-in-2025-takeaways-from-north-america/

08/10/2026

State of the Climate in 2025, a comprehensive “annual physical” of the global climate, is out today. Read about key contributions from NCICS staffers Carl Schreck, Laura Stevens, John Uehling, Garrett Graham, and Jessicca Allen.

NCICS staff members made significant contributions to the State of the Climate in 2025, an annual assessment of the global climate released today by the American Meteorological Society.

06/16/2026

NCICS's Dr. Madhusmita Swain is lead author on a new paper in the journal Atmosphere (open access).

Precipitation is among the most uncertain and poorly predicted weather products in earth system science. Local convective precipitation is particularly sensitive to strong land–atmosphere coupling. Two indices derived from atmospheric thermodynamic vertical profiles, convective triggering potentia...

06/15/2026

NCICS’s Dr. Carl Schreck is quoted extensively in this in-depth report from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

“We are really confident that storms are getting wetter,” Schreck said. “Any rainstorm today is going to drop more rain than it would have 100 years ago.”

Civil engineers face six months of uncertainty as wetter hurricanes increase flood risk. See how stormwater managers are adapting aging infrastructure.

05/20/2026

The work of NCICS's Dr. Jennifer Runkle is featured in this Yale Climate Connections story on climate change and mental health.

"Direct exposures, such as extreme heat, storms, or air pollution, can affect the body’s stress response systems and disrupt sleep and physiological regulation,” explained Runkle.

Slow-moving changes to the environment are taking a toll.

05/12/2026

NCICS’s Laura Stevens, Mark Essig, and Liz Cox present “Exploring the State Climate Summaries,” 11–12:30 tomorrow (Wednesday) at the National Adaptation Forum in Pittsburgh. Details: https://whova.com/embedded/session/ImSwHrGPiqjAGsxJEeprWB0NhRgRxYO6LKHkiDy5rkQ%3D/5183009/?widget=primary