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Missoula County approves memorandum to join nationwide heat-monitoring cohort
Summary
Missoula County approved a memorandum of grama with the Center for Collaborative Heat Monitoring (operated under the Museum of Life and Science) to join a community science heat-monitoring campaign and accept a $10,000 stipend to support a one-day heat watch across roughly 100 square miles.
Missoula County commissioners approved a measure authorizing the chair to sign a memorandum of grama with the Center for Collaborative Heat Monitoring, operated under the Museum of Life and Science in Washington, D.C., to join a nationwide community science cohort that will run a one-day heat-monitoring campaign.
The county will accept a $10,000 stipend tied to the campaign. County staff said the stipend will be used for volunteer incentives, food and water for participants, hiring organizational support if needed, and branded gear or other campaign materials.
County staff asked the board to honor an embargo requested by the Museum of Life and Science so the museum can issue a coordinated press release. Members of the media on the call asked whether the county would stream or post the meeting recording to YouTube; staff said the meeting is public and noted they would coordinate with the museum on messaging after the press release.
Staff described the campaign as a participatory “heat watch” conducted over approximately 100 square miles. They said the area will not be a contiguous polygon but will include city of Missoula points of interest and extend to nearby communities, potentially including Frenchtown, Bonner, East Missoula, Lolo and Seeley Lake. Staff said they will work with forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the local forecasting office to choose a date with high temperatures and a low probability of storms or cloud cover; smoke and clouds may cool readings and affect results.
A voice vote approved the memorandum; the meeting record shows commissioners answered “Aye.” Staff characterized the stipend source in the meeting as “funded by Noah,” and said they were proceeding while that funding remained expected but not guaranteed.
Why it matters: community-collected temperature data can help local officials and residents better understand heat exposure patterns across neighborhoods and nearby communities. The county said data collection and volunteer recruitment will be guided by stakeholder input and coordinated with technical advisors from the Center for Collaborative Heat Monitoring and CAPA Strategies.
Next steps: staff said they will identify monitoring nodes with stakeholders, finalize a target date with NOAA forecasters, and coordinate public messaging with the Museum of Life and Science after the museum’s planned press release.
