Stephanie McAfee

Photo of Stephanie McAfee, Extension

Stephanie McAfee

Associate Professor and State Climatologist, State Specialist

Summary

McAfee is an applied climatologist interested in developing climate and climate change information suitable for management decisions.  She has worked on questions ranging from bias propagation within coupled models to the production of downscaled snow projections for Alaska and has a strong interest in climate services and public outreach.

Education

A.B. Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, 1998
M.S. Forest Soils, University of Washington, 2002
Ph.D., Geosciences, University of Arizona, 2009

Programs

Dry lake bed

Living with Drought

The program connects stakeholders with drought status information, essential research, and tools that can be used to help address and assess the impacts of drought in Nevada.

Courses

  • GEOG/ATMS 121, Climate Change and Its Environmental Impacts
  • GEOG 322, Into the Storm: Severe Weather and Society
  • GEOG/ATMS 421/621, Climatology

News & Journal Articles, Fact Sheets, Reports...

Fact Sheets
Getting started with climate change planning: understanding and using climate projections
More and more communities are planning for climate change, but it can be hard to know where to start. This document answers some common questions about using future climate scenarios from global climate models and provides tips about how to choose climate projections and links to reliable sources of climate projections
 Kalansky, J., McAfee, S., and Rhodes, K. 2023, Extension, University of Nevada, Reno Factsheet
Drought and Fire in Nevada: Is fire risk higher during drought?
This short factsheet describes the relationship between fire and drought in Nevada. It contradicts the common misperception that drought always leads to more fire and provides detailed information about how drought relates to fire in different kinds of ecosystems.
 Davis, A., McAfee, S., Restaino, C., Ormerod, K.J. 2022, Extension, University of Nevada, Reno Factsheet
nevada sunset
Climate Change Impacts in Nevada
Summarized in this fact sheet are specific details about how climate change has already and will continue to impact the state of Nevada and strategies that can be used to prepare for these changes.
 McAfee, S., Restaino, C., Ormerrod, K., Dettinger, M., McEvoy, D., Kalansky, J., Cayan, D., Lachniet, M., Moser, S., VanderMolen, K., Wall, T. 2021, Extension | University of Nevada, Reno FS-21-06
Impactos del Cambio Climático en Nevada
En este artículo, se resumen detalles específicos sobre cómo el cambio climático ya ha afectado y seguirá afectando al estado de Nevada y las estrategias que pueden utilizarse para prepararse para estos cambios.
 McAfee, S., Restaino, C., Ormerrod, K., Dettinger, M., McEvoy, D., Kalansky, J., Cayan, D., Lachniet, M., Moser, S., VanderMolen, K., Wall, T. 2021, Extension | University of Nevada, Reno FS-21-06
snow in the sierras
Nevada's Weather and Climate
Weather and climate are related, but they are not the same. The difference between weather and climate is time. Practically speaking, weather determines which clothes you decide to put on today, but climate determines the type of clothes that are in your closet.
 Ormerod, Kerri Jean; McAfee, Stephanie 2017, Extension | Fact Sheet 17-04
Special Publications
high tunnel greenhouse
Climate Modification Using High Tunnels in Western Nevada
Farmers in the Great Basin are investing in inexpensive low-tech greenhouses, known as high tunnels, but little is known about how high tunnels alter the climate conditions that crops experience inside of high tunnels.
 Heckler, S., McAfee, S.A., Kratsch, H.A. 2020, Extension Special Publication