Detailed Program Information
The NOAA Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT) is a joint OAR—NWS testbed motivated to make "communities that are more resilient to the impacts of extreme precipitation on lives, property, water supply and ecosystems. HMT is co-managed by the Physical Sciences Laboratory in OAR and the NWS Weather Prediction Center in partnership with the National Water Center.
The mission of the testbed is "Improving forecasts of extreme precipitation and forcings for hydrologic prediction." HMT supports both OAR and NWS strategic objectives.
For OAR, these include:
For the NWS Weather Ready Nation strategic plan, these include:
HMT activities at WPC were established to accelerate the assessment and implementation of new technology, research results, and other scientific advancements from the research and development communities to enhance WPC operational forecast products and services. These activities at WPC include the Flash Flood and Intense Rainfall Experiment (FFaIR) and the Winter Weather Experiment (WWE). FFaIR and WWE are designed to enhance and extend forecast skill for high-impact weather, especially precipitation, by facilitating interactions among researchers, operational forecasters, and users.
Please note that the WPC staff are willing to serve as a co-investigator with researchers interested in applying for HMT funding.
Main science priorities at WPC include:
Communities that are more resilient to the impacts of precipitation extremes on lives, property, water supply and ecosystems.
Can forecasts of precipitation extremes be improved through an increased predictive understanding of underlying physical processes derived from enhanced regional observations and models?
To accelerate the development, prototyping, and use of advanced hydrometeorological observations and models to improve our physical understanding and representation of precipitation and surface processes, leading to improved monitoring and prediction of extreme events
To foster infusion of these advances into NOAA services, and to provide customized information for local and regional decision making
To support the broader needs for 21st Century precipitation information for flood and water resources management and improved ecosystem services