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HMT was the topic of a National Weather Service Virtual Lab "VLab" Forum, entitled "Hydrometeorology Testbed Overview." Allen White, Kelly Mahoney, David Novak, and Rob Cifelli, HMT team members from the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, gave a "tag team" presentation highlighting: HMT-West, HMT-Southeast, and HMT-Weather Prediction Center (WPC).
The purpose of VLab forums are to showcase potential transition projects at the interface of research and operations communities. VLab forums begin by a talk by a subject matter expert, which is followed by a lively discussion on the project's implications for NWS operations.
The presentation was attended by many different NWS offices and other interested groups, and an enthusiastic discussion followed the talk, focusing on HMT ideas that may be most ripe for operational transitions. There were a number of questions about atmospheric rivers (ARs) and whether these features are important for extreme precipitation events occurring in the southeast U.S. The group responded that, unlike in the west where precipitation is strongly linked to water vapor in an AR moving onshore and intersecting terrain, the causes of extreme precipitation in the southeast are complex as shown by recent HMT study. The contribution of ARs to southeast flooding events is the subject of ongoing HMT research.
Contact: Kelly Mahoney