Overview

The purpose of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) Climate Data Processing Tool is to process readily available downscaled climate data at the local level into relevant statistics for transportation planners. This tool works with data used by the Downscaled CMIP3 and CMIP5 Climate and Hydrology Projections (DCHP) website. This website houses climate model data from phase 3 (CMIP3) and phase 5 (CMIP5) of the World Climate Research Programme.

The Microsoft Excel®-based tool enables users to estimate the number of extreme temperature and precipitation days per year for future climate scenarios out to the year 2099. For temperature, the tool can estimate the annual number of days above a certain temperature (e.g., 105°F) or below a certain temperature (e.g., 32°F).  For precipitation, the tool can estimate the annual number of days with precipitation above a certain percentile expectation (e.g., 99th percentile). Together, these estimates can be used to identify transportation assets that may be at risk.

Use of the tool requires three main steps:

1. Downloading Data—Determining the appropriate climate data to download from the DCHP website, including location, models, and emissions scenario(s).
2. Processing Data—Using the appropriate CMIP Climate Data Processing Tool Excel file to process data from the DCHP website into specific temperature and precipitation variables.
3. Interpreting Data—Reviewing the results and properly applying them to decision making.

User’s Guide provides detailed instructions within each of the three main steps.

Watch: Webinar about how to use the tool (2021).