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<br />GOES-I, NOAA polar orbiting satellite, airborne snow survey, SNOTEL (SNOwpack <br />TELemetry), and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) data together over time will also <br />improve areal estimates of accumulated snowpack water equivalent content and snowpack <br />melt. <br /> <br />Management at NOAA's FSL has expressed strong interest in working with Reclamation to <br />implement and operationally test LAPS over an area that is of concern to the NWS, <br />Reclamation, and others. However, the request for setting up LAPS in a new area for testing <br />must be made by local NWS WFO and/or RFC management. One good possibility for <br />collaborative studies is the California area from about Sacramento northward to Medford, <br />Oregon (fig. 3). This area includes both the ARB, which was the focus of the study reported <br />in section 2, and the Shasta-Trinity Watersheds that annually experience heavy winter- <br />season precipitation events. Because much of the precipitation from these storms falls as <br />rain in the lower elevations, the threat of flooding is of great concern for some reservoirs (e.g., <br />Spring Creek, Folsom, Stony Creek, and New Melones). <br /> <br />The NWS personnel at the CNRFC in Sacramento have been very cooperative and supportive <br />during the ARB study. They have stated that continued collaboration with other agencies <br />and organizations is very important. With the implementation of new generation remote <br />sensing and prediction technology, they lack personnel resources to verify their QPFs over <br />Reclamation watersheds. In addition, existing objective forecast aids have to be calibrated, <br />and new objective aids and conceptual models have to be developed. <br /> <br />The Hydrologist-in-Charge ofthe CNRFC recommended that any collaborative studies within <br />the CNRFC's area of responsibility focus on northern California. In addition, the focus <br />should be on systems and products that can be used in a real-time mode, and that provide <br />a "real world" view. It was suggested that the studies include a "marriage" of physics and <br />dynamics to the local orographics. Also, any products developed for operational use must run <br />on the existing computer workstations available at the CNRFC and the Sacramento WFO. <br /> <br />In summary, several opportunities exist for Reclamation meteorologists to collaborate with <br />other agencies, the NWS in particular, to add value to existing and emerging nowcast and <br />forecast products. Many of these products need to be tested over watersheds of interest to <br />Reclamation, and improved where appropriate. Several of the products would be of <br />significantly more value to Reclamation if they were "tailored" for Reclamation needs. <br />However, obtaining the maximum benefit from the new and exciting meteorological tools and <br />approaches, primarily being developed by other Federal agencies, will require a sustained <br />commitment from Reclamation management. <br /> <br />27 <br />