The 2015 Hydrometeorological Testbed — Hydrology (HMT-Hydro) Experiment

The 2015 Hydrometeorological Testbed – Hydrology (HMT-Hydro) Experiment sponsored by the United States Weather Research Program was conducted from 6-24 July 2015 in the Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) at the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma. The HMT-Hydro Experiment focused on the issuance of experimental products for hydrologic extremes using emerging sciences and technologies for National Weather Service (NWS) operations. A total of 18 NWS forecasters utilized developmental products from the Flooded Locations and Simulated Hydrographs (FLASH) suite to issue probabilistic flash flood watches and warnings over the conterminous United States. A series of 29 products from the FLASH suite was available to forecasters, which included output from two hydrologic models, precipitable water values and anomalies, precipitation recurrence intervals, and ratio of quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) to flash flood guidance. Reflectivity mosaics and QPEs from the Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) system and quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPFs) from the High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) and Advective-Statistical System (ADSTAT) models were also available. Forecasters conducted real-time flash flood watch and warning operations within the AWIPS-2 software platform and issued flash flood watch and warning products using the Hazard Services plug-in for AWIPS-2. The HMT-Hydro Experiment was conducted in conjunction with the Flash Flood and Intense Rainfall (FFaIR) Experiment at the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) to simulate the collaboration and real-time workflow between a national forecasting center and a NWS weather forecast office. Detailed weather discussions and probabilistic forecasts from the FFaIR Experiment were used to focus the HMT-Hydro Experiment watch and warning operations, while scientists and forecasters with the HMT-Hydro Experiment provided feedback on FFaIR outlooks and forecasts. Results from the experiment will assist in the transition of new hydrometeorological applications into operations and the progression of the Weather Ready Nation mission. This presentation will provide an overview of the HMT-Hydro Experiment, scientific goals, and preliminary findings.