Who We Are
Scott Yuknis
President, Founder
Scott Yuknis is the founder and CEO of Climate Impact Company, a meteorological and climate consulting company that changes the way industry looks at the impact of weather and climate on industry.
Prior to founding CIC, Scott was an operational weather and climate forecaster for Weather Services Corporation and Meteorlogix providing data, reports and consultation for nearly every major energy utility in the U.S., many media outlets including radio and newspapers and increasingly agribusiness.
In the mid-to-late 1990’s after NOAA launched their long-lead long-range climate forecast program Scott became an initiator and innovator of value add processes to bring the NOAA probabilistic prediction process to industry. Scott was one of the first climate forecasters to consider many aspects of climate other than ENSO to the prediction scheme in order to produce the best forecast possible to industry.
As a climate forecaster Scott has spoken at numerous conferences sharing his vast knowledge of climate forecasting both on an operational and educational basis. Scott is known within industry for his relentless pursuit of research and implementation of the best climate forecast possible worldwide.
Scott attended the University of Hawaii/Manoa and University of Massachusetts/Lowell in the meteorology program after an 8-year tour with the U.S. Naval Oceanography Command as an aviation weather briefer and ocean analyst. Scott is a member of the American Metrological Society, National Weather Association and Naval Weather Association.
Olivia Kellner
Lead Research Scientist
Olivia joined Climate Impact Company in 2015 as a part-time climatologist and research-based member. A meteorologist and climatologist, her professional experience includes working at NOAA’s National Weather Service, NOAA’s Midwestern Regional Climate Center, and the Climate and Atmospheric Science Section of the Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois.
Her research includes mesoscale meteorology and land-surface interactions, teleconnections and applications to agricultural production and climate science education.
Olivia earned a Ph.D. studying land-surface interactions, climate extremes, and teleconnections on the hydroclimatology of the US Corn Belt. Her specialties include an unmatched understanding of climate influences on agriculture, whether crunching numbers for risk assessment, or simply advising growers on future climate scenarios and ways to adapt and mitigate anticipated changes in the future climate.
Olivia’s primary role is to communicate climate science research and forecasts in a way that is understandable, relatable and applicable. Her work shows our clients how climate will affect their business interests, allowing them to make more informed and confident decisions when using our forecasts.
What We Do
Climate Impact Company has 4 primary objectives with our prediction products.
- Producing the best seasonal forecast possible – anywhere across the globe.
- Monitoring the seasonal climate forecast with the twice per week issue of the week 2-4 forecasts which define confidence of the previously issued seasonal climate forecast and identify any change (if needed) before the next seasonal climate forecast is issued.
- Identifying the pattern and its eventual pattern change in the medium-range (6-10/11-15/16-20 day forecast).
- Providing the best climate diagnostics analysis and forecasts which drive the seasonal forecasts.
Climate change and industry needs drive our primary objectives.
According to Dr. Olivia Kellner (Climate Impact Company Climate Researcher), “Climate change refers to a systematic change in the global climate system that results in a warmer or colder, wetter or drier, climate pattern.” Climate Impact Company reviews observations and trends of the global climate system to assess and predict future climate.
Examples are the effect of record warm global ocean temperatures and influence on ENSO, the increased relevance of non-ENSO regimes of the vast oceans such as Pacific decadal oscillation and Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation on climate and of course soil moisture regimes and cold season snow cover. A recent discovery by Climate Impact Company is the dramatic influence on climate caused by the speed of climate signal changes.
The climate system also includes changes in the hydrosphere, lithosphere, cryosphere, biosphere AND the atmosphere. It’s not just climate models and analogs. The process starts global and is refined regionally because every region is different.
It takes more than just models
Big data and models are taking over decision making in industry. But is that enough? A discerning eye on the skill level of the many meteorological and climate models out there is required for the best climate assessment and prediction. We have decades of experience WITH industry making these critical decisions and calls.
Our forecast approach was driven by YOU
Climate Impact Company has decades of experience with many industries. Risk managers, analysts, traders all want to know one thing: Define the risk of adverse climate and the weather events and their severity within that climate regime and forecast when those conditions will emerge. We project those conditions in the seasonal forecast and identify the onset the weather conditions with the week 2-4 forecasts and most accurately in the 6-10/11-15 day medium-range forecasts. The process works because it was designed by climate forecasters AND industry.
Learn with us
What dramatic event or regime will affect me and when will it begin – without exception this is the risk managers most important and critical interest. Not everyone wants to know the dynamics of how we identify important weather and climate risk – at least not at first. But our experience tells us that the stronger the business relationship becomes between us and our clients the more they want to know about climate. You’ll learn a lot working with us which is important in a knowledge-based economy.