CW3E Launches Interactive AR Rain Versus Snow Forecast Maps and Watershed Plots

January 26, 2018

CW3E has launched a new forecast tool designed to visualize the impacts of the freezing level (and thus the rain versus snow partitioning in mountain watersheds) during atmospheric river storms over the U.S. West Coast. The interactive map shows whether the NOAA NCEP global forecasting ensemble predicts rain, snow, or uncertainty (some models predicting rain, some snow) downscaled to a 1 km resolution, and out to 7 days forecast lead times. For major watersheds in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada time series of the forecasted freezing levels, precipitation amounts, and fractions falling as rain versus snow are also availalbe. The tool is designed to be of used for operational stakeholders for regions that are sensitive to the impacts of precipitation phase on hydrology, infrastructure, and public safety. This tool was developed by Jason Cordeira (Plymouth State University) and Brian Henn (CW3E) and is available on the CW3E Interactive Maps webpage.