Local Climate Analysis Tool
Status: Discontinued in 2025
Project Description
Awards and Recognition
- Awarded Department of Commerce Group Silver Medal for Scientific/Engineering Achievement (12/17/2014)
- NOAA Local Climate Analysis Tool (LCAT): Data, Methods, and Usability Published: 4/1/2015
- Core design modernized and released as LCATv2 (Ref) in 2024.
Orion partnered with the National Weather Service to develop the Local Climate Analysis Tool (LCAT), an advanced web-based application that enables meteorologists and climate professionals to conduct scientifically rigorous regional and local climate analyses using authoritative observational and gridded climate datasets.
LCAT was designed to give National Weather Service field offices and technical users standardized methods for evaluating climate variability, long-term trends, and relationships among climate, weather, and water resources. The application supports climate services by allowing users to perform sophisticated analyses through an intuitive, interactive web interface without requiring specialized statistical software. The tool was introduced into National Weather Service operations to improve the consistency and scientific quality of local climate studies.
Project Details
Client:
National Weather Service & NOAADate:
2011-01-01Category:
Web designProject URL:
nws.weather.gov/lcat/Orion’s Contributions
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Designed and developed a modern, interactive web application supporting operational climate analysis.
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Engineered tools for analyzing long-term climate trends using observational station data and reanalysis gridded datasets.
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Implemented interactive visualization and statistical analysis capabilities for regional and local climate studies.
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Developed scalable web services and data processing workflows supporting complex climate analyses.
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Created an intuitive user interface that enabled National Weather Service forecasters and climate specialists to perform advanced analyses without requiring specialized desktop software.
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Supported integration of climate information with operational weather and hydrologic decision-support services.
Project Impact
The Local Climate Analysis Tool expanded the National Weather Service’s ability to deliver climate services by providing a standardized, scientifically defensible platform for evaluating local climate conditions and long-term environmental trends. The application enables users to investigate temperature and precipitation trends, climate variability, teleconnections, and other climate relationships that support environmental planning, water resource management, emergency preparedness, and public outreach.
By making sophisticated climate analysis techniques available through a web-based platform, Orion helped improve the accessibility, consistency, and operational use of climate information throughout the National Weather Service.
Project Website: Local Climate Analysis Tool (LCAT)
Project Brochure: NOAA LCAT Brochure
