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The Hydrometeorology Research Group: Precipitation Monitoring, Estimation and Forecasts
Accurate quantitative precipitation estimates (QPE) and very short-term quantitative precipitation forecasts (VSQPF) are critical to fresh water management in the United States and around the world. National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters have documented their need for better operational products. River Forecast Centers need more accurate QPE/VSQPF and better knowledge of QPE uncertainties and their impacts on river forecasts. Weather Forecast Offices require the same for improved flash flood warnings. NSSL’s Hydrometeorology Research Group (HMRG) addresses these issues by using their expertise to research and build on current operational tools.
National Basin Delineation Project
NSSL manages and maintains a national flash-flood-scale hydrologic GIS dataset in support of the NWS AWIPS Flash Flood Monitoring and Prediction (FFMP) system for assisting forecasters in flash-flood warning decisions. The catchment boundaries and synthetic stream networks in this dataset were derived from the USGS National Elevation Dataset (NED) during the period from 2000-2003. These provide the hydrologic framework for monitoring precipitation estimate rates and accumulations in FFMP.
In addition to managing and maintaining the dataset, NSSL provides technical support to WFOs and other users who would like to customize their datasets using GIS. This support ranges from e-mail and phone assistance to performing various customization tasks as requested by the user. Recently, a repository for the FFMP hydrologic GIS dataset was established at NSSL. Through a web interface, NWS users can view, query, and download the dataset files for user-specified domains. This repository will improve data access and allow greater flexibility for expansion and improvement of the FFMP system. (more)
NMQ – National Mosaic and Multi-Sensor QPE (Q2)
The NMQ consists of a prototype real-time computing system that generates three-dimensional mosaics of radar reflectivity and a suite of derived products including multiple rainfall products. The system has also been designed to ingest all relevant grids for rainfall estimation purposes such as multiple radar, rain gauges, satellite imagery, model output, and lightning flashes. (more)
National Mosaic
As part of NMQ, NSSL has implemented a system that produces a national (CONUS) 3D radar mosaic grid with a 1-km horizontal resolution over 31 vertical levels and a 5-minute update cycle. The 3D reflectivity grid can be used for multi-sensor severe storm algorithms, regional rainfall products generation, aviation weather applications, and data assimilations for convective scale numerical weather modeling.
Q2 (Next Generation QPE)
Q2 continues NSSL’s departure from radar-centric precipitation estimation and moves toward a multi-sensor approach focused on high-resolution integration of radar, satellite, model, and surface observations to produce very high-resolution precipitation estimates.
NMQ/JADE (Joint Applications Development Environment)
JADE was developed to enable joint development, testing and evaluation of new QPE and short-term QPF science and technology in an open and flexible environment.
CI-FLOW
The Coastal and Inland FLooding Observation and Warning (CI-FLOW) Project consortium is working with NCSU to couple their existing estuary model, watershed water quality model, and an estuary water quality model to the NSSL multi-sensor precipitation estimation system and NWS distribution hydrologic model. The resulting CI-FLOW demonstration program will facilitate the evaluation and testing of new technologies and techniques to produce accurate and timely identification of coastal, estuary and inland floods, flash floods and their impacts on the coastal ecosystem. Project CI-FLOW is focused on the Tar-Pamlico River Basin in North Carolina. (more)
HMT Testbed
The Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT) is a concept aimed
at accelerating the infusion of new technologies, models, and scientific
results from the research community into daily forecasting operations of
the NWS and its River Forecast Centers. HMT operates as a demonstration
with forecasters and researchers joining forces in an operational setting.
(more 
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Debris Flow
California is particularly susceptible to mudslides and debris flow caused by extreme rainfall. Two NSSL researchers were invited by the NWS to serve on an interagency team to create a debris flow, or mudslide warning system for southern California. The interagency team will provide guidelines for the warning system including developing a research plan for improved QPE over the southern California mountains. (more)
International Collaborations
NSSL-IHR (China) Scientific Exchange Program
Beginning in 2004, NSSL's Hydrometeorology Research Group, in collaboration with the Institute of Heavy Rain of the China Meteorological Administration, established a scientific exchange program focusing on radar applications in quantitative precipitation estimation and forecast (QPE/F) towards improving the accuracy of flood and flash flood warnings. The program includes the exchange of visiting scientists, joint scientific workshops, and academic lectures. Through this exchange, scientists from both the USA and China have gained a better understanding of ongoing efforts in the two countries to address the scientific and operational challenges of flood warnings and water resource management. The collaboration also facilitated scientific contributions in the development and refinement of the National Mosaic and QPE system.
NSSL—CWB (Taiwan) High-Resolution QPE and QPF (HRQ2) System
NSSL and NOAA's Forecast Systems Laboratory (now ESRL) collaborated with the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) and Water Resources Agency (WRA) of Taiwan to develop a High-Resolution QPE and QPF (HRQ2) system for Taiwan. The two agencies were working to improve Taiwan's capabilities to issue flash flood and flood warnings and improve river and reservoir water management. The HRQ2 system includes 5 components: 1) Radar data quality control; 2) 3-D radar mosaic; 3) Severe weather products; 3) QPE; 4) QPF; and 5) Product visualization and evaluation. The QPF component is a joint effort between the NSSL and the ESRL where an extrapolation scheme developed by the NSSL produces QPF in the time frame of 0-3hr and a hot-start NWP model developed by the ESRL provides QPF out to 24hr. The first 4-year plan (2002-2005) has been successfully completed and the HRQ2 system has been running in real-time at the CWB as well as more then ten other government agencies in support of their severe weather and floods/flash floods warnings, water resource management, soil conservations and other weather related decisions.
In 2006, NSSL and ESRL have started a new 4-year plan with the CWB and WRA of Taiwan to continue the development and enhancements of the HRQ2 system.
