NOAA

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NOAAs NWS and the USGS Partnering to Meet
Americas Water Information Needs
Peter Gabrielsen Chief, Hydrologic Services
Division Eastern Region NOAAs National Weather
Service March 17, 2006

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Long History of Collaboration

• NOAA and USGS have held over 115 coordination
  meetings
• First interagency coordination meeting over 31
  years ago
• NOAA values partnership and appreciates the
  USGS long history of responsiveness and
  professionalism
• Working to maximize support for organizational
  missions

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Complementary Missions
USGS provides stream gage data and NOAAs NWS
issues forecasts and warnings

• Flood Safety Awareness Week March 20-24
• AHPS
• Turn Around Dont Drown
• Flooding and Related Phenomena
• Flood Risk and Insurance
• Flood Safety
• In April 2004 The Weather Channel first aired
  Waters Fury, which highlighted the
  socioeconomic impacts of floods, NOAA NWS
  mission, partnerships, and services.

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Serving America Together
Susquehanna River Basin Flood Forecast and
Warning System

• Implemented in 1986
• Partnership includes NOAAs NWS, USGS,
• USACE
• Estimated to annually prevent 20 in
• damages for every dollar invested
• NWS issues daily river forecasts and flood
  warnings
• USGS maintains network of stream gages,
  precipitation gages, and data transmission
  equipment that provide weather and water
  information to the NWS

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• Serving America Together
• Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS)
  Products rely on USGS data

weather.gov
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• Serving America Together

weather.gov
USGS Stream gage observations serve as foundation
for NWS river forecasts and warnings
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Hurricane FloydSeptember 1999

• AHPS Flood Forecast Inundation Graphics

USGS provided stream gage observations, cross
sections, and rating curves needed to calibrate
models
Partnership between NOAA, USGS, State of NC
Floodplain Mapping Program Office, and FEMA
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AHPS Flash Flood Decision Assistance Flash Flood
Monitoring and Prediction (FFMP)

• Continuous monitoring of rainfall with
  comparison to flash flood guidance for high
  resolution stream basins
• Basin data set developed by NOAA in
  collaboration with USGS
• Alerts forecasters when a dangerous flash flood
  situation may be developing

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Debris Flow Forecasting
NOAA - USGS Partnership

• National capability to routinely issue debris
  flow watches and warnings
• Increasing risk to life and property because of
  debris flows
• Prototyped in Southern California Winter 2005-6

• Precipitation Analysis
• Precipitation and Soil Moisture Forecasts
• Debris Flow Guidance
• Service Delivery

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NOAAs Water Resources InitiativeWater
Forecasts Where you are and when you need them
Increased Reliance on USGS Data and Science

• Snowpack
• Precipitation
• Soil moisture
• River flow
• Ground water

Flood warnings for local communities
Critical information for neighborhoods
and watersheds Water volume and soil
condition forecasts
Working Together NOAA, USGS, other Federal
Agencies, State Agencies, Local Agencies, Private
Sector, Academia
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USGS Stream Gages in Greens Bayou Watershed
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