Open AccessFlood forecasting reaches new potential
Author(s) -
Juliën Pierre Y.,
Molnár Darcy K.,
Johnson Billy E.,
Combs Phil G.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/98eo00133
Subject(s) - flash flood , thunderstorm , surface runoff , flood forecasting , environmental science , flood myth , meteorology , tornado , watershed , weather radar , radar , hydrological modelling , hydrology (agriculture) , climatology , geography , geology , computer science , ecology , telecommunications , geotechnical engineering , archaeology , machine learning , biology
Natural disasters caused by floods challenge scientists to forecast the magnitude and timing of peak flood discharges more accurately. With recent advances in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and in computer technology, scientists have developed large‐scale surface runoff models to improve flood forecasting. The first version of the model CASC2D, developed at Colorado State University, simulates surface runoff from flash floods caused by intense thunderstorms moving across watershed areas. The hydrologic model has been coupled with data from the CSU‐CHILL polarized dual‐Doppler radar in Greeley, Colorado, which accurately tracks the motion of severe thunderstorms.