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<br />e 3. <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br /> <br />Flood Threat Recognition consists of actions that enable early <br />identification and subsequent monitoring of potential flood situations. The <br />purpose of the flood threat recognition component is to determine if a flood <br />is impending and predict the time of its occurrence and its magnitude. The <br />flood recognition step is vital to a preparedness program because it provides <br />the trigger for putting the waming arrangements into action. Two approaches <br />are available for flood recognition. The one most commonly used is <br />prediction of floods based on precipitation received in upstream areas. The <br />other is prediction of flooding based on observation of upstream water levels. <br /> <br />For the Canon City area, the plan uses either approach, or a <br />combination of both approaches, prediction by the National Weather Service <br />(NWS) of high precipitation and/or the observation of rising water levels <br />around the area. <br /> <br />In this chapter, the roles of the various govemmental agencies and <br />the identification of the level of threat are discussed. The recognition may <br />begin with a National Weather Service forecast, or with persons/spotters <br />calling to the Canon City Police/Fire Departments or Fremont County <br />Sheriff's Department to report observed conditions. <br /> <br />3. 1 Role of the National Weather Service <br /> <br />The National Weather Service (NWS) Offices in Denver and Pueblo <br />are responsible for flood forecasting. Their Pueblo Office is a 24 hour a day <br />operation, open seven days a week. The phone number for the forecaster <br />on duty is 719-948-3838. In the event of a flood or flash flood, the NWS will <br />provide the weather and forecast information to the Fremont County Office <br />of Emergency Management and to the Pueblo Office of the State Patrol for <br />Canon City dissemination. <br /> <br />The National Weather Service defines floods, flash floods, watches, <br />and wamings as follows: <br /> <br />1. FLOODS - slowly evolving overbank flows which are normally <br />caused by water rises due to mountain snowmelt - sometimes augmented <br />by rain at lower elevations. They usually involve gradual river rises and <br />provide a reasonable amount of time for preparing and disseminating <br />watches and waming. These events for Canon City are handled by the <br />National Weather service in Pueblo, in cooperation with the National <br />Weather Service River Forecast Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who has more <br />hydrologic expertise, computer power and modeling capability. In addition, <br />for a flood event, usually sufficient time is available to produce good <br />forecasts of future river crests and times. <br /> <br />7 <br /> <br />>0., The National <br />Weather Service in <br />Pueblo provides <br />weather information <br />for the Fremont <br />County area. <br />