Assessment of Hydrologic and Hydrometeorological Operations and Services

Assessment of Hydrologic and Hydrometeorological Operations and Services PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1997-01-03

Total Pages: 63

ISBN-13: 0309056349

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Floods are by far the most devastating of all weather-related hazards in the United States. The National Weather Service (NWS) is charged by Congress to provide river and flood forecasts and warnings to the public to protect life and property and to promote the nation's economic and environmental well-being (such as through support for water resources management). As part of a modernization of its technologies and organizational structure, the NWS is undertaking a thorough updating of its hydrologic products and services and the activities that produce them. The National Weather Service Modernization Committee of the National Research Council undertook a comprehensive assessment of the NWS' plans and progress for the modernization of hydrologic and hydrometeorological operations and services. The committee's conclusions and recommendations and their related analysis and rationale are presented in this report.

Toward a New Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS)

Toward a New Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2006-06-28

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 0309180775

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The National Weather Service (NWS) is responsible for providing flood forecasts and warnings in the United States. The agency established the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Services (AHPS) program in 1997 to advance technology for hydrologic services, specifically to provide accurate forecasts that support timely warnings for all users of hydrologic predictions. AHPS strives to provide information at the right time to facilitate adequate responses to mitigate damages to life, livelihoods, and property. AHPS is slated to be fully implemented nationwide in 2013. With seven years still remaining in its development and implementation timeline, a review of the program now is critical to providing NWS with information it needs to maximize the effectiveness of the AHPS program. This report assesses AHPS in respect to hydrologic science and technology research, river routing and mechanics, "systems" engineering aspects, and implementation. Overall, this report finds AHPS to be an ambitious program that promises to provide services and products that are timely and necessary. The report calls for AHPS to develop a detailed and comprehensive, multi-year implementation plan and for the program's goals and budget to be brought into closer alignment.

Hydrologic Sciences

Hydrologic Sciences PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1998-11-11

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 0309174074

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Hydrologic science, an important, interdisciplinary science dealing with the occurrence, distribution, and properties of water on Earth, is key to understanding and resolving many contemporary, large-scale environmental issues. The Water Science and Technology Board used the opportunity of its 1997 Abel Wolman Distinguished Lecture to assess the vitality of the hydrologic sciences by the hydrologic community. The format included focus by lecturer Thomas Dunne on the intellectual vitality of the hydrologic sciences, followed by a symposium featuring several invited papers and discussions. Hydrologic Sciences is a compilation of the Wolman Lecture and the papers, preceded by a summarizing overview. The volume stresses a number of needs for furtherance of hydrologic science, including development of a coherent body of transferable theory and an intellectual center for the science, communication across multiple geo- and environmental science disciplines, appropriate measurements and observations, and provision of central guidance for the field.

The National Weather Service Modernization and Associated Restructuring

The National Weather Service Modernization and Associated Restructuring PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2012-01-25

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13: 0309218012

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The Modernization and Associated Restructuring (MAR) of the National Weather Service (NWS) was a large and complex re-engineering of a federal agency. The process lasted a decade and cost an estimated $4.5 billion. The result was greater integration of science into weather service activities and improved outreach and coordination with users of weather information. The MAR created a new, modernized NWS, and, significantly, it created a framework that will allow the NWS to keep up with technological changes in a more evolutionary manner. The MAR was both necessary and generally well executed. However, it required revolutionary, often difficult, changes. The procurement of large, complex technical systems presented challenges in and of itself. The MAR also affected the career paths and personal lives of a large portion of the field office workforce. The MAR created a new, modernized NWS, and, significantly, it created a framework that will allow the NWS to keep up with technological changes in a more evolutionary manner. The National Weather Service Modernization and Associated Restructuring presents the first comprehensive assessment of the execution of the MAR and its impact on the provision of weather services in the United States. This report provides an assessment that addresses the past modernization as well as lessons learned to support future improvements to NWS capabilities.

Weather Services for the Nation

Weather Services for the Nation PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2012-12-02

Total Pages: 110

ISBN-13: 030925972X

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During the 1980s and 1990s, the National Weather Service (NWS) undertook a major program called the Modernization and Associated Restructuring (MAR). The MAR was officially completed in 2000. No comprehensive assessment of the execution of the MAR plan, or comparison of the promised benefits of the MAR to its actual impact, had ever been conducted. Therefore, Congress asked the National Academy of Sciences to conduct an end-to-end assessment. That report, The National Weather Service Modernization and Associated Restructuring: A Retrospective Assessment, concluded that the MAR was a success. Now, twelve years after the official completion of the MAR, the challenges faced by the NWS are no less important than those of the pre-MAR era. The three key challenges are: 1) Keeping Pace with accelerating scientific and technological advancement, 2) Meeting Expanding and Evolving User Needs in an increasingly information centric society, and 3) Partnering with an Increasingly Capable Enterprise that has grown considerably since the time of the MAR. Weather Services for the Nation presents three main recommendations for responding to these challenges. These recommendations will help the NWS address these challenges, making it more agile and effective. This will put it on a path to becoming second to none at integrating advances in science and technology into its operations and at meeting user needs, leading in some areas and keeping pace in others. It will have the highest quality core capabilities among national weather services. It will have a more agile organizational structure and workforce that allow it to directly or indirectly reach more end-users, save more lives, and help more businesses. And it will have leveraged these capabilities through the broader enterprise. This approach will make possible societal benefits beyond what the NWS budget alone allows.

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