Impact of Accurate Global Weather Corporation Precipitation Forecasts at Seattle Public Utilities

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), a department within the City of Seattle responsible for providing Seattle customers with reliable drinking water, drainage, wastewater, and solid waste services, is affected by high intensity precipitation events.�Extreme event impacts include urban flooding, sewer overflows and backups, and increased customer complaints. Weather forecasting and climate adaptation services are managed internally by SPU's Climate Resiliency Group.�Consensus Global Weather Corporation Forecasts of precipitation are an important part of the system. Examples of winter precipitation events and forecasts of various lead times are shown.�With accurate precipitation forecasts SPU is able to more effectively staff and deploy crews, and improve customer response during extreme events.