Preface [Weather radar and hydrology]

The topic of “Weather Radar and Hydrology” brings together important science and technology challenges concerning the monitoring and forecasting of rainfall over space and time and how the pattern of rainfall is transformed by a varied landscape into surface water runoff and river flow across a city, region or country. It has significant practical application across a range of water resource functions, including flood forecasting and warning, flood design, urban drainage management, water supply and environmental services. The subject concerns developments in weather radar technology in combination with advances in hydrological application, and thus is of relevance to researchers in these fields, practitioners in the water industry and suppliers of weather radar systems. These Proceedings bring together over 100 peer-reviewed papers presented at the International Symposium on “Weather Radar and Hydrology” (WRaH 2011), convened from 18 to 21 April 2011 at the University of Exeter, UK: see www.WRaH2011.org for details. The symposium was the 8th in a series that began in 1989 at the University of Salford (UK) under the title “Hydrological Applications of Weather Radar”. Subsequent symposia have been convened in Germany, Brazil, USA, Japan, Australia and France. WRaH 2011 marked a return to the UK after 20 years of successful symposia across the world. More than 250 people attended from a range of organisations – governments, academia, research bodies, national hydrometeoro¬logical services and consultancies – and travelled from countries spanning four continents. WRaH 2011 provided a forum for the exchange of experiences and ideas on the use of weather radar in hydrology with a particular emphasis on user applications for flood forecasting and water management. These Proceedings serve as a valuable record of this activity