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<br />NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE <br />ADVANCED CAPABILITIES <br />IN FLASH FLOOD FORECASTING <br /> <br />Lee W. Larson <br />Hydrologic Research Laboratory <br />National Weather Service, NOAA <br />Silver Spring, Maryland <br /> <br />ntroduction <br /> <br />The modernization of the National Weather Service (NWS) includes three <br />major systems: the Doppler Weather Surveillance Radar (WSR-88D), the <br />Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (A WIPS), and the <br />Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS). These advanced technologies <br />are providing significant data and processing capabilities that are directly <br />applicable to the flash flood problem. In particular, the Weather Forecast <br />Office (WFO) Hydrologic Forecast System (WHFS) provides forecasters with <br />unparalleled access to real-time data and the capability to process and identify <br />potential flash flood situations. All of these technologies contribute to <br />improved capabilities of the NWS to provide early and useful flash flood <br />products to cooperators and the public. <br />On July 31, 1976, more than 12 inches ofrain fell in the Big Thompson <br />Canyon in Colorado. The resulting flood left more than 140 people dead and <br />destroyed homes and businesses. There has been a significant effort within <br />the NWS over the last 20 years to improve our capabilities to respond to <br />of events <br /> <br />these types <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />Following the Big Thompson flash flood, in an effort to provide the <br />WSFO with the tools necessary to effectively forecast these types of events, <br />the Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL), with support from the NWS, began <br />the Program for Regional Observing and Forecast Services (PROFS), which <br />