Prediction of a Flash Flood in Complex Terrain. Part II: A Comparison of Flood Discharge Simulations Using Rainfall Input from Radar, a Dynamic Model, and an Automated Algorithmic System

Abstract

Three techniques were employed for the estimation and prediction of precipitation from a thunderstorm that produced a flash flood in the Buffalo Creek watershed located in the mountainous Front Range near Denver, Colorado, on 12 July 1996. The techniques included 1) quantitative precipitation estimation using the National Weather Service’s Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler and the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s S-band, dual-polarization radars, 2) quantitative precipitation forecasting utilizing a dynamic model, and 3) quantitative precipitation forecasting using an automated algorithmic system for tracking thunderstorms. Rainfall data provided by these various techniques at short timescales (6 min) and at fine spatial resolutions (150 m to 2 km) served as input to a distributed-parameter hydrologic model for analysis of the flash flood. The quantitative precipitation estimates from the weather radar demonstrated their ability to aid in simulating a watershed’s response to precipitation forcing from small-scale, convective weather in complex terrain. That is, with the radar-based quantitative precipitation estimates employed as input, the simulated peak discharge was similar to that estimated. The dynamic model showed the most promise in providing a significant forecast lead time for this flash-flood event. The algorithmic system did not show as much skill in comparison with the dynamic model in providing precipitation forcing to the hydrologic model. The discharge forecasts based on the dynamic-model and algorithmic-system inputs point to the need to improve the ability to forecast convective storms, especially if models such as these eventually are to be used in operational flood forecasting.