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<br />runoff would occur. In response to these requets, the CWCB's Flood Section began exploring <br />ways to provide improved snowmelt runoff prediction information to local government officials <br />and emergency managers. Section staff agreed that by using 1) snowpack water content <br />information, 2) daily temperature data, and 3) gaged stream flow data, it could reasonably predict <br />when peak flows on given streams would most likely occur. <br /> <br />Temperature is an extremely important factor in the model. The CWCB has observed <br />through years of snowmelt record keeping that when nighttime temperatures do not fall below <br />freezing in a basin's headwater area, the peak snowmelt runoff begins. When a given snowpack <br />does not freeze overnight, melting is continuous around the clock. Consequently, rivers and <br />streams begin to rise more than normal. <br /> <br />This melting phenomena usually occurs at different elevations at different times. As a <br />result, snowmelt is usually a gradual process and few serious problems occur. However, as an <br />example, when a basin's headwaters area is 11,000 feet at its highest point, and the snowpack <br />extends down to 9,500 feet there can be a considerable amount of snow to be melted once <br />nighttime temperatures don't exceed freezing at 11,000 feet. Many times, it is the basins with <br />elevations below 11,000 feet but with a high snowpack down to lower levels that can cause the <br />most severe flooding on a given stream. <br /> <br />VI. STREAMFLOW DATA <br /> <br />Streamflow monitoring was an important work task during the 1995 flood season. The <br />Satellite Monitoring System (SMS) allows the Colorado Division of Water Resources ( a task <br />force member) to collect, process, store and distribute any kind of environmental data transmitted <br />from remote locations. The data set of interest to the Colorado Flood Task Force was the water <br />level at rivers, streams, diversion structures and reservoirs. SMS provided real time and historic <br />stream flow data from gaging stations across Colorado. <br />