Historical Information and Materials
The first phase of the Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT) was an outgrowth of NOAA's CALJET and PACJET field projects from 1997–2003 on the West Coast of the U.S. While productive from a research standpoint, the CALJET and PACJET experiences also suggested a need for a new model to better engage operational communities in the research process, which led to workshops and science meetings between the research and operational communities (HMT Implementation Plan for Science & Service, 2009).
In the early 2000s enhanced observation sites known as atmospheric river observatories (AROs), which include radar wind profilers, GPS water vapor sensors, standard surface meteorology stations, and in some cases snow-level radars, were installed in the western U.S. by the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL). NOAA and partners, such as the State of California and the U.S. Department of Energy, have provided funding for additional observatories over the years, and there currently exists a “picket fence” of AROs along the west coast . Additional surface meteorological sites implemented by HMT supplement the ARO network and are maintained by PSL. A major goal of these observations, and HMT in general, is to examine extreme precipitation and its hydrologic forcings to improve QPF.
The scientific results of field campaigns combined with long-term observations and researcher/ forecaster collaborations naturally led to the development of tools and products (such as the Water Vapor Flux Tool or the Atmospheric River Detection Tool) to help forecasters predict heavy precipitation events. HMT R2O connections became more formal in August 2005 when a component of the HMT was established at the NOAA/NCEP Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC) (now known as the Weather Prediction Center (WPC)). For several years the HMT staff at WPC have organized forecasting experiments where researchers can test their product or model in a quasi-operational setting. These experiments include the Winter Weather Experiment and the Flash Flood and Intense Rainfall experiment and focus on improving precipitation forecasts and continue to be an important component of HMT.
In 2009 the first NOAA Testbed Workshop focused on best practices among emerging testbeds associated with NOAA weather research and forecasting entities and partners (Ralph et al. 2013). The HMT was represented at this workshop, as well as all subsequent workshops.
As researchers continued using HMT legacy instrumentation, for instance, during recent research campaigns such as the Calwater2 and ENRR, and the WPC forecasting experiments continued testing new models, products, and forecasting methods, the infrastructure of HMT changed again in 2015 when U.S. Weather Research Program/Office of Weather and Air Quality (USWRP/OWAQ) began competitively funding R2O projects for several NOAA testbeds, including the HMT. A second phase of USWRP/OWAQ funding began in summer 2017. Visit our projects page for past and present HMT-funded projects.
More details about the history of HMT can be found in the timeline below, which includes links to documents.
HMT Timeline |
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| 2020 | Flash Flood and Intense Rainfall Experiment and Winter Weather Experiment held at WPC; 11th NOAA Testbeds & Proving Grounds Workshop |
| 2019 | Flash Flood and Intense Rainfall Experiment and Winter Weather Experiment held at WPC; 10th NOAA Testbeds & Proving Grounds Workshop |
| 2018 | Flash Flood and Intense Rainfall Experiment and Winter Weather Experiment held at WPC; 9th NOAA Testbeds & Proving Grounds Workshop |
| 2017 | Flash Flood and Intense Rainfall Experiment and Winter Weather Experiment held at WPC; Second round of USWRP/OWAQ funded R2O projects began; 8th NOAA Testbeds & Proving Grounds Workshop |
| 2016 | International Atmospheric Rivers Conference; AGU Fall Meeting Town Hall: Atmospheric Rivers – A discussion of the definition under development for the Glossary of Meteorology; Flash Flood and Intense Rainfall Experiment and Winter Weather Experiment held at WPC; 7th NOAA Testbeds & Proving Grounds Workshop |
| 2015 | USWRP/OWAQ funding of R20 projects began; Calwater2 field campaign; Flash Flood and Intense Rainfall Experiment and Winter Weather Experiment held at WPC; 6th NOAA Testbeds & Proving Grounds Workshop |
| 2014 | Calwater special session at Fall AGU; Calwater early start field campaign; Flash Flood and Intense Rainfall Experiment and Winter Weather Experiment held at WPC; 5th NOAA Testbeds & Proving Grounds Workshop; HMT-SE Field Campaign |
| 2013 | HMT science meeting; Flash Flood and Intense Rainfall Experiment and Winter Weather Experiment held at HPC; 4th NOAA Testbeds & Proving Grounds Workshop; HMT-SE Field Campaign |
| 2012 | Annual HMT science meeting; Atmospheric River Retrospective Forecasting Experiment and the Winter Weather Experiment held at HPC; 3rd NOAA Testbeds & Proving Grounds Workshop |
| 2011 | Calwater science workshop; Calwater special session at Fall AGU; Calwater1 deployment; Winter Weather Experiment and QPF Component of the 2011 HWT Spring Experiment held at HPC; 2nd NOAA Testbeds & Proving Grounds Workshop |
| 2010 | HMT-West Annual Meeting; HMT/DTC coordination meeting; Special session on atmospheric rivers at AGU Fall Meeting; QPF Component of the 2010 HWT Spring Experiment held at WPC; Calwater science workshop; Calwater1 deployment – new ARO |
| 2009 | HMT-West 2009 field deployment (building on 2008 deployment); HMT-SE Operational Needs and Requirements Workshop; HMT-SE Research Planning Workshop; Calwater1 early start deployment; 1st NOAA Testbeds & Proving Grounds Workshop |
| 2008 | HMT-West 2008 field deployment (building on 2007 deployment); HMT Research to Operations (R2O) Workshop; Annual meeting of the HMT Advisory Panel; HMT Mini-Workshop on Flash Flood Monitoring and Prediction (FFMP); Calwater Science Planning Workshop |
| 2007 | HMT-West 2007 field deployment (building on 2006 deployment); Meeting of HMT Advisory Panel |
| 2006 | HMT-West 2006 field deployment (first full-scale deployment for HMT-West); Third NOAA HMT planning meeting |
| 2005 | Establishment of NCEP/HPC component of the HMT; HMT-West 2005 field deployment (preliminary deployment for HMT-West); Second NOAA HMT planning meeting |
| 2004 | HMT-2004 field deployment (more refined HMT prototype in the Russian River Basin) |
| 2003 | PACJET-2003 field deployment (first HMT instrumentation/observational prototype in the Russian River Basin) |
| 2002 | PACJET-2002 field experiment; First NOAA HMT planning meeting |
| 2001 | PACJET Workshop-2001 |
| 1999 | Workshop to address science, forecasting, and user needs and expand CALJET to Pacific Northwest (renamed PACJET) |
| 1997-1998 | CALJET field phase during strong El Niño |
