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National Weather Service
Professional Development Series

Extended-Range Hydrologic Forecasting

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Executive Producer: Tim Helble - Hydrologic Services Division
Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services

This Professional Development Series (PDS) covers knowledge and abilities necessary to produce and interpret hydrologic forecasts for future time scales from 7 days out to several months. These forecasts can be produced for specific points and/or at a basin-wide scale. These operations at River Forecast Centers (RFC) use components of the NWS River Forecast System (NWSRFS) including the Operational Forecast System (OFS), Ensemble Streamflow Prediction (ESP) and also statistical methods. Not all Professional Competency Units (PCU) of this PDS may be appropriate to all offices. Service Hydrologists should have a basic understanding of the overall extended hydrologic forecast process so they can answer routine questions from the customers, and therefore should complete selected instructional components in all PCUs.

Professional Competency Units

This Professional Development Series (PDS) includes the Professional Competency Units (PCU) listed below. Click on a unit to see details.

  • PCU 1: Review Basin/Channel Characteristics
  • PCU 2: Access, Analyze, and Preprare Historical Hydrometeorological Inputs and Time Series
  • PCU 3: Analyze Regressions and Select Equations for Statistical Forecasting Methods
  • PCU 4: Prepare the OFS for Execution in an Extended-Range Mode
  • PCU 5: Prepare ESP for Execution over Desired Time-Frame
  • PCU 6: Prepare Statistical Models such as Statistical Water Supply Procedures for Execution (Particularly Data Inputs)
  • PCU 7: Execute the Extended-Range Hydrologic Model, Analyze Output, and Prepare Products

    • Based on 2/01/01 version of this PDS

    Return to the Master NWS PDS Page
    Last Reviewed or Updated on 2/22/01