June 6, 2007 1

NOAA's Hydrometeorological Testbed (HMT)

The Empirical Approach to Observing System Design &Demonstration

http://hmt.noaa.gov/Contact: Timothy.Schneider@noaa.gov

June 6, 2007 2

Foci• QPE• QPF• Hydrology• Verification• Enhancing &

AcceleratingResearch toOperations

• BuildingPartnerships

National Testbed StrategyRegional Implementation

HMT’s Products

21st CenturyObservations

21st CenturyModeling

Decision Support ToolsDecision Support Tools

ScienceScienceThe Foundation

Leve

l of e

ffort

/ ac

tivity

Fiel

d W

ork

Ana

lysi

s

AmericanRiver

Key Eastern U.S. Watershed

Key Central U.S. Watershed

Fiscal Year

HMT-West

HMT-West Legacy

HMT-East

HMT-East Legacy

HMT-Central

Regions of Focus

NOAA Hydrology Program (Water Resources Data Assimilation)

NOAA Science and Technology Infusion Program (Hydrometeorology Testbed)

13121110090807060504030201009998

West Coast/Russian River

Caljet Pacjet

Proof of concept

HMT Prototype

Hydrometeorology Testbed Timeline

SHARE

^̂

June 6, 2007 5

R&D and Operational Perspectives:Observing Systems

R&D Operations

Testbed DomainOperational Priorities• Reliability• Cost Effectiveness• COTS (plug n’ play)• Continuity• GPRA Measures

R&D Priorities• Exploratory• Higher Resolution• Multi-Sensor• New Variables• Publication

Basic R&D Improved UserDecisions“Culture”

The HMT ConceptTestbed as a Process

Marty RalphNOAA/ETL-PACJET

See: Dabberdt et. al. 2005 Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc.

June 6, 2007 7

Building Partnerships

Project Manager

Timothy Schneider

Chair of the Advisory Panel

ESRL-PSD ESRL-GSD

NSSL NWS-OHD

NWS-CNRFC NWS Sacramento-WFO

NWS Monterey-WFO NWS Reno-WFO

NWS-Western Region NCEP-HPC

NESDIS-STAR NOHRSC

Advisory Panel

(26 members)

HMT

Management Council

Gary Carter, Hydro Program Manager

Marty Ralph, ST&I Program Manager

Critical Element: engaging local, state and federal stakeholders…

June 6, 2007 8

Profiler/RASS/Met (ETL)Profiler/RASS (Other Agency)X-band/Met/Rain gaugeS-band/Met/DisdrometerWSR-88D (NEXRAD)

HMTMicrophysics Array

H M T - 2 0 0 4

BBY = Bodega Bay

BSC = Big Sulfur Creek

CVD = Cloverdale

CZC = Cazadero

FRS = Fort Ross

GRK = Goat Rock

A Hydrometeorological Testbed (HMT) forthe Russian River Watershed

HBG = Healdsburg

HLD = Hopland

LSN = Lake Sonoma

ROD = Rio Dell

SPT = Salt Point

-123.8 -123.6 -123.4 -123.2 -123.0 -122.8 -122.6

38.2

38.4

38.6

38.8

39.0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

1100

1200

1300

Elev. (m)

S O N O M A

M E N D O C I N O

M A R I N

L A K E

N A P A

Pt. Arena

PacificOcean

BBY

CZC

FRS

Pt.Reyes N.S.

50 km

HMT-2004 Microphysics Array

Sfc. met. + rain gaugeAdditional rain gaugesSoil-moisture probesGPS IPWX-band polarimetric scanning radarS-band precip profiler915-MHz wind profilerRaindrop disdrometerGPS rawinsondesRiver gaugeOcean buoy

SanPablo Bay

CVD

HLD

LSN

BSC

SPT

GRK

Gualala

HBG

ROD

HMT-2004

Why the American River Basin?

Lester Snow, CA-DWR

June 6, 2007 10

HM

T-W

est 2

006

Bas

in S

cale

Map X-POL

SMART-R

June 6, 2007 11

HM

T-W

est 2

007

Reg

iona

l Sca

le M

ap

June 6, 2007 12

HM

T-W

est 2

007

Bas

in S

cale

Map

Tier 2: Adds networks ofproven, moderately expensivetechnologies:

• Wind profilers• Atmos. River Observatories

Tier 1: Builds onexisting networksand adds proveninexpensivetechnologies:

• GPS-met• Soil moisture• Snow-level radars

Tier 4: Adds an offshorerecon. program toimprove lead time ofadverse weatherforecasts

• Two m/u aircraftstationed in CA

• Two add’l m/u aircraftout of AL and HIAK

HI

Map of Tier I-IV

Observations & Modeling

• Diagnoses• Quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE)• Climate change monitoring* Assimilation in numerical weather prediction

(NWP) models* Verification

– Confidence and credibility in QPF is achieved throughverified

* Observing System Simulation Experiments(OSSE)

* NWP can improve QPE through assimilation

* Indicates a direct linkage between the observational and modeling components of this vision