Multisensor Precipitation Estimates Produced by National Weather Service River Forecast Centers for Hydrologic Applications

Proceedings of the 2001 Georgia Water Resources Conference, April 26 and 27, 2001, Athens, Georgia.The National Weather Service (NWS) produces radar-derived estimates of rainfall using data collected in real time from its network of doppler weather radars. These estimates, along with observations from automated rain gauges, are used to create high resolution gridded precipitation estimates suitable for various hydrologic applications. The NWS Southeast River Forecast Center (SERFC), located in Peachtree City, Georgia, produces these estimates for the Southeastern United States, including all of the watersheds in Georgia. The current methodology for creating these estimates, called Stage III, is being improved to address radar bias issues and to add new capabilities. The new program, called the River Forecast Center (RFC)-wide Mulitisensor Precipitation Estimator (MPE), will be installed in summer 2001. RFC-wide MPE will provide an optimal estimate of precipitation which has fallen during a given clock hour. The analysis is carried out on the Hydrologic Rainfall Analysis Project (HRAP) grid, which is a polar stereographic map projection with approximately 4 km resolution in mid-latitudes.Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Conservation Service, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of TechnologyThis book was published by the Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2202. The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-397) or the other conference sponsors