**BACKGROUND PAPER**

**ON**

**CROSSCUTTING ASSESSMENT OF FEDERAL AGENCY HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL
PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH**

**Purpose:** To propose to ICMSSR that the Federal coordinating
infrastructure of the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology
(OFCM) conduct a crosscut assessment of the hydrometeorological
products, services, and supporting research across the Federal agencies.

**Discussion:**

-   In the past, the focus of the OFCM's efforts has been on
    meteorological products, services and supporting research; such as
    aviation weather, space weather, weather information for surface
    transportation, etc., with little consideration given to the
    specific hydrometeorological products, services, and supporting
    research needed by the Federal community and the customers we serve.

-   Representatives from several agencies, like the National Weather
    Service (NWS), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and U.S. Army
    Corps of Engineers (USACE), in recent discussions with the Federal
    Coordinator, support the need for this assessment.

-   Each year during the OFCM-sponsored Interdepartmental Hurricane
    Conference, the Federal community discusses and examines the
    hydrometeorological impacts of tropical cyclones; namely,
    storm-surge and inland flooding, but, to date, we have yet to
    document the needs and requirements for these types of products on a
    Federal interagency basis. We believe it is particularly relevant in
    the post-Katrina environment.

-   In an April 2007 article in the *Bulletin of the American
    Meteorological Society*, entitled Hydrologic Verification, Edwin
    Welles, et.al., makes the case that "to date there has been little
    attempt to integrate verification into the hydrologic forecast
    process or into the research supporting the hydrologic process."
    "Without conducting continuous and comprehensive verification, it is
    not possible to know what needs to change in order to improve
    forecast skill." Welles also makes the point that we need to focus
    on the hydrologic forecast process. "By focusing hydrologic research
    on forecasting, a new branch of the hydrologic discipline, *a
    hydrologic forecast science*, will develop, and the academic
    community will need to update the hydrologic curriculum to include
    forecasting so that hydrologists can better support the complex task
    of providing forecasts for the nation's waterways." This is an
    effort that needs to be coordinated across the Federal agencies.

-   In the world of hydromet products and services, outreach conducted
    by the NWS indicates that there is a strong and growing need for
    more uncertainty information for risk management and
    decision-making, products in geographically-referenced formats
    (e.g., flood inundation maps), and expanded use of the Internet and
    other emerging communications/dissemination technologies.

-   Who should be involved?

    -   NOAA (National Weather Service and National Ocean
        Service)---principal providers

    -   Department of Interior (DOI)

        -   U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (stream flow, streamgaging,
            flood monitoring, ground-water climate response network)

        -   U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (dams, reservoirs, and *Agrimet*
            and *Hydromet* operations)

        -   U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (coastal ecosystems)

        -   National Park Service (NPS) (tourism and natural resource
            monitoring and management)

    -   Department of Agriculture (USDA) (drought monitor)

        -   National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) (conservation
            and watershed planning)

    -   U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) (flood plain management,
        Gulf Coast Hurricane Protection System)

    -   Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

        -   Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (National Flood
            Insurance Program, flood hazard mapping, post-storm data
            acquisition)

        -   U.S. Coast Guard (protect against degradation of natural
            resources associated with maritime transportation, fishing,
            and recreational boating)

    -   Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (water resource
        protection)

    -   National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (remote
        sensing)

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   A key element of the assessment will be to engage the users of this
    Federal information. We need to ensure that we understand the needs
    of user groups; such as:

    -   National Emergency Management Association

    -   International Association of Emergency Managers

    -   Association of State Floodplain Managers

    -   National Hydrologic Warning Council

    -   American Meteorological Society

    -   Media (e.g., The Weather Channel and other TV broadcasters)

-   The assessment has three primary objectives:

    -   Define the needs and requirements for hydrometeorological
        products, services, and supporting research for the Federal
        agencies and the customers they support.

    -   Investigate agency plans and alternatives for satisfying new
        requirements.

    -   Create more efficient and effective partnerships among the
        agencies to better leverage subject-matter expertise and
        resources to meet the growing needs for better hydromet products
        and services.

**ICMSSR Proposed Action**: Support the need for a crosscutting
assessment of Federal agency hydrometeorological products, services, and
supporting research, and establishment of a Joint Action Group for this
activity