This year, the National Drought Mitigation Center is partnering with North Central Climate and Drought webinar organizers to evaluate the reach and impact of the monthly webinar series. Statistics about webinar viewership numbers and reach are among the highlights showcased in an infographic that can be downloaded from the NDMC website.Since 2011, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s Central Region Climate Services Director, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Climate Hubs, National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), and American Association of State Climatologists have partnered to provide monthly climate and drought webinar updates to stakeholders who live and work in the North Central U.S.
The North Central Climate and Drought webinar series has grown over the course of the past decade as more users have tuned in to learn about the latest conditions from the Rockies to the Great Lakes. Hundreds of federal, state and tribal government agency staff members, researchers, business and industry leaders, reporters and more have tuned in to the monthly report, which interprets information about climate and weather events and their impacts, drought, crop status, hydrology, monthly and seasonal climatological outlooks and more into a 45-minute presentation followed by a question and answer session.
This year, the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) is partnering with the webinar organizers to evaluate the reach and impact of the monthly webinar series. The evaluation began by collecting information about the evolution of the series from its initial years to its growth over time. Statistics about the webinar’s viewership numbers and reach are among the highlights showcased in an infographic that can be downloaded from the NDMC website.
Some of the notable statistics from the infographic include:
- The webinars have been viewed over 13,500 times either live or on the NIDIS YouTube channel.
- Average webinar attendance has nearly doubled, to 151 people, since its launch in 2011 in response to Missouri River Flooding.
- From 2019-2020, 640 unique participants tuned into all or some of the webinars.
A follow-up survey of webinar participants over the 10-year period is currently underway, so look for additional information about the webinar’s impact later this year.
Register for Future Monthly Meetings
Download Infographic
-NDMC Communications