Improved Short-term Operational Streamflow
Forecasting
for Snow-melt Dominated Basins in Idaho
Brian Harshburger
Geography Dept., Univ. Idaho
Co-authors: Troy Blandford, Karen S. Humes, Brandon Moore, Russell Qualls,
Von P. Walden, and Wenguang Zhao
Runoff in the state of Idaho is dominated by snow-melt. Thus the
amount and rate of snowmelt determine streamflow throughout the season.
The objective of this project is to develop a short-to-medium range forecast
system for streamflow prediction within small basins in the state of Idaho.
This research is highly applied and is intended to bridge the gap between
models in the hydrological and meteorological research communities, utilize
newly available satellite data products, and fulfill the needs of operational
agencies. The model being used in this study is the Snowmelt Runoff
Model (SRM). This conceptually-based model is a candidate for operational
implementation because it relies on commonly available input variables.
This project is organized into two main activities: (1) Validation
of SRM on representative basins using actual surface and streamflow observations,
(2) Development of an interface between SRM and meteorological forecast
model output, real-time data from surface observations, and operational
snowcover data from remote sensing. Here we present the results from the
retrospective runs (Activity #1) for three years in the Big Wood River Basin,
Idaho.
Keywords: Streamflow Forecasting, Snowmelt, Runoff,
Remote Sensing