The NWS Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Services (AHPS) and Partner Services
The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) provides water prediction and delivery methods to aide NWS partners and customers in protecting life and property, especially during times of flood and drought. AHPS provides user friendly text and graphical forecasts that are available online. These products are designed to help emergency managers better prepare their communities in the event of a flood, and help recreational water users stay out of harm’s way. The AHPS products enable you to find reliable answers to questions such as:
The NWS has recently added additional enhancements to the AHPS pages, including:
The ability to look days into the future to see how many city blocks and roads might be flooding is becoming clearer with flood inundation mapping. The National Weather Service and the National Ocean Service are collaborating with the USGS, USACE, FEMA and other partners to develop inundation maps for inland freshwater flooding. Sets of maps, referred to as libraries, are being developed which include map layers depicting the spatial extent and depth of water for various flood levels ranging from minor flooding all the way through the flood of record in the vicinity of NWS river forecast locations. Combined with traditional NWS river forecasts these flood maps show the areas of likely inundation based on current conditions and river forecasts. Maps are produced using GIS and datasets created in the production of FEMA's flood insurance rate maps. These libraries are accessible through the AHPS website. In addition to providing our own flood forecasts and warning information, the NWS works with and relies on strategic partners involved in river observations, reservoir management, floodplain management, flood hazard mitigation, and flood preparedness to reduce the loss of life and property due to floods. Just a few of those partners are listed below.
Additional information about AHPS and Flood Awareness Week is available at www.floodsafety.noaa.gov. |