OU weather researchers will soon be able to do more than scratch the surface of their studies with a $3.8 million grant.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded OU this week with a five-year grant that will fund a research program that focuses on climate risks, drought assessments and planning tools, according to a NOAA press release.

OU has been researching climate changes for several years, and this new grant represents the quality of past advances, said Associate State Climatologist Derek Arndt.

OU researchers want to help people prepare and be aware of climate changes, especially in extreme cases such as drought, Arndt said.

“The goal is to move beyond hard science and gain an understanding about how climate affects people,” he said.

Arndt said students rarely get the opportunity to see science at work from the beginning of a project, but this program will change that.

Most research programs do not typically mature over the period of five years. Arndt said the length of study will allow the researchers to develop a true understanding of the material.

“This provides a rich, real-world experience that students can see develop from day one,” Arndt said.

The program will help OU researchers make advances they would have missed in the past, Arndt said.

The school of meteorology and NOAA have many staff members who focus on local weather situations. But the new program allows researchers from different areas of the country to work together and focus on the big picture, Arndt said.

The program will watch over NOAA’s Southern Region Climate Center, which includes Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, according to the release.

“This award will allow OU meteorologists to work with and support a multistate audience with the very latest in drought monitoring, planning, mitigation services, continuing a nearly 50-year tradition of public service and support to communities,” said John T. Snow, dean of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences.