Introduction
Kampgrounds of America (KOA) is a privately owned organization that has around 500 locations across Canada and the United States (Fogelson, 2012). The company provides camping services offering tent, RV, and cabin rentals among other services (Fogelson, 2012). Recently, the CFO of KOA expressed their interest in using climatic data to calculate the effect of potential financial investment. Specifically, the company wanted to open new campgrounds and needed to forecast the possible implications of expanding its business in one of the following locations: Hot Spring, AR, and Billings, MT.
There is a strong scientific basis for asserting that warming of the climate system was brought about by human influence (Pederson, Graumlich, Fagre, Kipfer, & Muhlfeld, 2009). It is seen from observing the data on global average air temperatures as well as the melting of glacial ice and snow that causes the rise of sea level (Pederson et al., 2009). If warming trends continue, Montana will experience a rise in temperature by 4-6 degrees (F) in the following decades (Pederson et al., 2009).
To assess the climatic differences between the two locations, statistical comparison of temperature and precipitation in Hot Spring and Billings will be made. The temperature and precipitation data were chosen for analysis, and the range was from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2015.
Methods and Results
To analyze Global Summary of the Month data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, t-testing and correlation were used. The results of the study revealed that the difference in temperature between Hot Spring and Billings is not statistically significant (p =.009). There also was not a significant difference in precipitation levels between the two towns (p =.02). However, there was a strong correlation in precipitation levels (r =.06) and a strong correlation in temperature (r =.09). There also were week local correlations between temperature and precipitation within both locations (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2016).
Analysis
According to the study results, the difference between temperature trends is negligible; however, spring months are usually warmer in Hot Spring than in Billings. Most of the winter months in the analyzed range were also warmer in Hot Spring. Nonetheless, there was a slightly higher rate of precipitation in Hot Spring than in Billings. The graph also shows that the period between 2012 and 2015 was not marked by significant monthly precipitation spikes.
Discussion
Judging by the study results, the CFO of KOA should be advised to consider opening their facilities in Billings. Even though the variation in temperature between the two towns is not statistically significant, the difference in precipitation levels means that Billings would be a more promising location in terms of financial investment in tent camping. Moreover, according to the results of the study, the trend of warm temperatures during spring and summer months in Billing is less pronounced thus making it more attractive for camping.
Even though there were fewer precipitation spikes in Hot Spring in the period between 2012 and 2015, it can be argued that Billings is a much more attractive location due to its lower precipitation averages. Therefore, a recommendation to open the KOA franchise in the Billings can be made. However, if the company is interested in expanding the number of their stores instead of camping sites, it can be argued, that both locations could serve that purpose equally well.
References
Fogelson, J. (2012). KOA Promotes Comfort Camping. Web.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2016). Global Summary of the Month. Web.
Pederson, G., Graumlich, L., Fagre, D., Kipfer, T., & Muhlfeld, C. (2009). A century of climate and ecosystem change in Western Montana: what do temperature trends portend? Climatic Change, 98(1-2), 133-154.