National Weather Service River Forecasting System

The National Weather Service River Forecast System describes a method and details computer programs of efficient operational use of a conceptual hydrologic model for river forecasting. A new format has been established for the retrieval of hourly precipitation data and daily observations (from the National Climatic Center, NOAA). A computer program is provided to perform all steps to convert the basic precipitation data to areal means. A procedure and computer programs needed for calibrating the basic conceptual model to a large number of basins in a reasonable time are described. The basic conceptual model has wide applicability. The inclusion of a snow-pack model and additions to the channel-routing procedure planned for the near future will make the model applicable over nearly all of the United States.