NOAA Announces River Forecast Initiative

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced the expanded implementation of its newest river forecasting system, the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS). AHPS is a combination of software and hardware tools that will draw together data from other modern technologies such as Doppler weather radar, satellite and weather station observations and other existing weather communication systems. The new service will assist in predicting high water and low water events weeks in advance, allowing more time for river users to prepare for an event. The new service will be deployed this year on the upper Mississippi River, with implementation scheduled for river tributaries in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. Year 2000 implementation on the Ohio River system includes tributaries in Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio and western Pennsylvania.