Seasonal streamflow forecasts: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 11:07, 13 May 2026

Overview

Seasonal streamflow forecasts, also called seasonal water supply forecasts, are widely consulted by water managers and water users throughout the Colorado River Basin to inform general expectations for the coming runoff season and to inform specific operational decisions such as reservoir release schedules and water allocations. Forecasts are typically issued from mid-winter (December/January) through July for a several-month forecast period, April-July being the most common, and in some cases for the water year (October-September). The forecasts are expressed in terms of streamflow volume (in acre-feet, af) over the forecast period.

There are two primary federal providers of operational seasonal streamflow forecasts for the basin:

Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC), one of the 13 NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) River Forecast Centers (RFCs)
Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) National Water and Climate Center

CBRFC issues forecasts for 143 points within the Colorado River Basin, and also for 33 points in the eastern Great Basin. NRCS issues forecasts for 134 points within the basin, most of them overlapping with the CBRFC forecast points, and for about 750 points in other western river basins. CBRFC and NRCS use different modeling approaches and their respective forecasted streamflow volumes for the same forecast point may differ. (Before 2012, the two entities coordinated their forecasts, such that their forecasted streamflow volumes for shared forecast points were identical.)

While users typically focus on the "most probable" (50% exceedance) forecasted values, the operational forecasts from both CBRFC and NRCS include multiple values for each forecast point, to represent the uncertainty in the forecast (Figure 1). These are typically expressed in terms of probability-of-exceedance, in which the 90% exceedance is a low-end forecast, with a 90% probability of being exceeded by the actual streamflow volume, and the 10% exceedance is a high-end forecast, with only a 10% probability of being exceeded by the actual streamflow volume. NRCS has a guide to interpreting streamflow forecasts that explains how users can align their own risk tolerance with a particular exceedance forecast.

The CBRFC seasonal streamflow forecasts are key inputs into Reclamation's primary operational model for the basin, Colorado River Mid-term Modeling System (CRMMS), and thus strongly influence operational decisions and planning by Reclamation. Many other water agencies and water users across the basin consult CBRFC and/or NRCS seasonal streamflow forecasts for their own modeling and decision-making.

A number of basin water agencies also produce their own seasonal streamflow forecasts for gages not covered by CBRFC or NRCS, typically using statistical forecast methods similar to those used by NRCS (see below).

Methods

In the snowmelt-dominated headwaters of the Colorado River Basin, predictability of streamflow on seasonal timescales in the basin arises from the watershed's initial moisture conditions: the observed snowpack and soil moisture conditions. The skill of the forecasts increases through the winter and spring months as the accumulating snowpack provides more information about the upcoming runoff. Soil moisture deficits (or surpluses) in the fall, before snow begins to accumulate, indicate whether an an unusually low (or high) proportion of the snowpack will become runoff in the stream.

Lower-elevation watersheds which have little or no snowmelt contributing to the annual hydrology cannot be forecast as skillfully as higher-elevation watersheds that are snowmelt-dominated. In all cases, the primary source of forecast uncertainty and error is due to lack of knowledge of how the weather and climate will evolve between the date the forecast is issued (e.g., April 1st) and the end of the forecast period (e.g., July 31st). Other uncertainty and error comes from inaccurate depictions of the snowpack and/or soil moisture as input into the forecast model, and biases in the model itself.

The CBRFC uses a conceptual (or simple dynamical) modeling framework for its seasonal forecasts, coupling a snow model (SNOW-17) with a rainfall-runoff model (Sacramento-Soil Moisture Accounting; Sac-SMA). Conceptual models draw from our understanding of the physics of the real-world watershed, but have very simplified representations of watershed attributes and processes, with 5-20 components and adjustable parameters to relate them to each other. CBRFC runs their models throughout the forecast season (December-July), using historical daily precipitation and temperatures from each year of 1981-2015 to stand in for the unknown future weather. This creates an ensemble of 35 forecast traces, each starting with the same observed initial moisture conditions but individually evolving the modeled snowpack and runoff through the end of the forecast period given the winter/spring weather of 1981, 1982...2014, 2015. These ESP (Ensemble Streamflow Prediction) forecasts are issued daily, and then become the primary input to the official forecasts issued monthly and semi-monthly.

NRCS uses a statistical modeling framework, using separate models for each gage that are calibrated on the historical relationships between streamflow and several watershed predictors, typically snowpack (SWE) and accumulated water-year precipitation at several SNOTEL sites. For the past 50 years, NRCS has relied on linear regression modeling, most recently principal components regression, to forecast seasonal streamflow. NRCS is transitioning to a new statistical modeling platform in which several machine-learning methods, plus the legacy principal components regression, are used to generate an ensemble of six forecasts; the ensemble mean is typically more skillful than any one forecast. For the 2024 forecast season, NRCS plans to use the new platform (M4) to produce most of its operational forecasts, with the legacy model still being used at some forecast points.

Data and Tools

Operational Forecasts

CBRFC

CBRFC has multiple ways to access and view their seasonal water supply forecasts and related data:

CBRFC Conditions Map - Water Supply Forecasts

The Conditions Map can display several different types of hydroclimate information, depending on the tab selected. The Water Supply Forecasts tab, when opened, defaults to the most probable (50% exceedance) values for the official 1st of month forecasts, but can also display the latest daily ESP forecasts ("Latest Model Guidance"). Clicking on the triangles (forecast points) brings up a thumbnail forecast evolution plot for that point; clicking within the plot opens a page specific to that forecast point, with an interactive forecast evolution plot and links to plots for previous years, calibration and validation data, and historical streamflow volumes for that point.

CBRFC Upper Colorado Situational Awareness

This page shows the most recent official forecasts for Lake Powell inflows (~all Upper Basin runoff) for April-July and the water year; maps of observed/modeled soil moisture, snowpack, and precipitation used to inform the forecasts; and graphs showing how the sub-basins' contributions and overall forecasted volume compares with average conditions.

CBRFC Water Supply Official Forecast List

This page features an interactive table with the official 1st of month forecasts for all forecast points. Like the forecast map, it links to the pages for each point.

CBRFC Water Supply Forecast Discussion

This document (PDF) discusses provides a general overview of the official (1st and 15th of month) CBRFC forecasts, describing the weather/watershed conditions that have led to the forecasts, as well as forecasts and outlooks for upcoming weather.

CBRFC Water Supply Webinars

From January through May, CRBFC presents one-hour webinars around the 7th of the month to explain the latest streamflow forecasts, the weather and snow conditions leading up to the forecasts, and the weather conditions forecasted for the next two weeks. Scroll down to "Presentations 20xx" for a link to the webinar archive for the current year; and then find the Water Supply Webinar" of interest. Both the slides and a recorded video with slides are available.

NRCS

NRCS likewise has several ways to access and view their seasonal water supply forecasts and related data.

NRCS Interactive Map - Forecasted Streamflow Volumes

The NRCS Interactive Map is a versatile tool to access and view all NRCS hydroclimate data, including the seasonal water supply forecasts. The link above has been specifically set up to show the most probable (50% exceedance) values for the current seasonal water supply forecasts, for individual points, but users can select other ways to visualize the forecast data, e.g., by basin, as percentiles, or for different forecast periods. Similar to the CBRFC Conditions Map, clicking on an individual forecast point will bring up a small window with the name of the point and forecasted streamflow volume; clicking on that window will bring up other options for viewing additional data for that point, including other statistics for the forecasted streamflow, and the observed streamflows for the water year.

NRCS Water Supply Forecast Chart

The Water Supply Forecast Chart shows the potential range for the forecasted streamflows (90%-70%-50%-30%-10% exceedances), similar to the shaded bands on the CBRFC forecast evolution plots. Note that the sub-basins within the CRB are shown by state; forecasts for Colorado R at Glen Canyon Dam (i.e., Lake Powell inflows) are accessed under Utah >Southwestern Utah.

NRCS State Basin Outlook Reports

The Basin Outlook Reports (also known as Water Supply Outlook Reports in some states) are issued monthly or semi-monthly from January through June by the state-level NRCS Snow Survey Offices, and supplement the NRCS seasonal water supply forecasts with narratives of statewide precipitation, snowpack, and water supply conditions, and additional graphics showing the water supply forecasts by sub-basin, alongside snowpack, precipitation, and reservoir conditions.

Arizona (issued Jan-Apr)
Colorado
New Mexico
Utah
Wyoming

Experimental Forecasts

ASO-informed forecasts for Colorado and Utah (CBRFC)

In collaboration with the Colorado Airborne Snow Measurements (CASM) program, the Colorado River Authority of Utah, and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, CBRFC is producing experimental seasonal water-supply forecasts for ~20 gages in Colorado and Utah. In these forecasts--which can supplement, but do not replace, CBRFC's official forecasts for the same gages--SWE estimates from the Airborne Snow Observatories (ASO) lidar system are directly inserted into CBRFC's SNOW-17 snowpack model. In 2024, the experimental CBRFC forecasts were produced 2-3 times at each gage between late March and early June. (The 2021-23 forecasts for Colorado gages can be obtained through the embedded table in this page at CASM.) CBRFC has committed to producing the ASO-informed experimental forecasts in spring 2025.

ASO-WRF-Hydro forecasts for Colorado and Utah (ASO)

Airborne Snow Observatories (ASO) also produces its own streamflow forecasts for many of the basins across the West in which it conducts flights to generate lidar-based SWE estimates. These forecasts use the WRF-Hydro hydrologic model to translate from SWE and other parameters into runoff. Typically 1-3 forecasts for each gage are produced during the spring runoff season. Free registration is required to view the ASO forecasts.

Woodson Lees Ferry WY flow forecast

This forecast procedure was developed by David Woodson as a part of his PhD research at the University of Colorado Boulder. The forecast uses a machine learning (random forest) model trained on Reclamation annual natural flow for the Colorado River at Lees Ferry, AZ for water years 1921-2023 as the predictand, and predictors including the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), and 12-month forecasts of precipitation and temperature from a climate model.

Utah Climate Center - Multi-Year Forecasts of Colorado River Water Supply

These forecasts differ from the other ones listed above in having a much longer outlook period: 1-3 years. These forecasts leverage research that has identified "long-term ocean memory": Anomalies of sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) in the North Pacific and tropical Atlantic, up to 44 months prior to the forecasted year, that impart predictability of Upper Basin streamflow (natural flow at Lees Ferry).

Additional Resources

Colorado River Basin Climate and Hydrology: State of the Science report

Chapter 8 of the State of the Science report covers many aspects of Streamflow Forecasting in greater detail; Section 8.4 is specific to mid-range forecasts (seasonal and longer). Chapter 6, on Hydrologic Modeling, has a detailed description of the CBRFC forecast model framework in Section 6.3, under National Weather Service Models.

CBRFC Presentations

These two presentations from the October 2020 CBRFC Stakeholder Workshop provide more detail about CBRFC forecast procedures.

CBRFC 101 - More general, covers both short-term and seasonal forecasts
The Water Year in 45 Minutes - Specific to seasonal forecasts

Wiki Library: Seasonal streamflow forecasts

The Wiki library lists over 35 research publications on streamflow forecasts that discuss methods and/or products that are relevant to the Colorado River Basin.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==Overview==
-Seasonal streamflow forecasts, also called seasonal water supply forecasts, are widely consulted by water managers and water users throughout the Colorado River Basin to inform general expectations for the coming runoff season and to inform specific operational decisions such as reservoir release schedules and water allocations. Forecasts are issued from mid-winter (Dec/Jan) through July for a several month forecast period: April-July (most common), March-June, or May-August, depending on the usual runoff peak.
+Seasonal streamflow forecasts, also called seasonal water supply forecasts, are widely consulted by water managers and water users throughout the Colorado River Basin to inform general expectations for the coming runoff season and to inform specific operational decisions such as reservoir release schedules and water allocations. Forecasts are typically issued from mid-winter (December/January) through July for a several-month forecast period, April-July being the most common, and in some cases for the water year (October-September). The forecasts are expressed in terms of streamflow volume (in acre-feet, af) over the forecast period.
 There are two primary federal providers of operational seasonal streamflow forecasts for the basin:
-*Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC), one of the 11 NOAA National Weather Service River Forecast Centers
+*Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC), one of the 13 NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) River Forecast Centers (RFCs)
 *Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) National Water and Climate Center
-CBRFC and NRCS use different modeling approaches and their respective forecasted streamflow volumes for the same forecast point may differ. Before 2012, they coordinated their forecasts so that their forecasted streamflow volumes were the same. CBRFC issues forecasts for 143 points within the Colorado River Basin, in addition to 33 points outside the basin (eastern Great Basin). NRCS issues forecasts
+CBRFC issues forecasts for 143 points within the Colorado River Basin, and also for 33 points in the eastern Great Basin. NRCS issues forecasts for 134 points within the basin, most of them overlapping with the CBRFC forecast points, and for about 750 points in other western river basins. CBRFC and NRCS use different modeling approaches and their respective forecasted streamflow volumes for the same forecast point may differ. (Before 2012, the two entities coordinated their forecasts, such that their forecasted streamflow volumes for shared forecast points were identical.)
-==Relevance==
+[[File:GLDA3 2020 plot.png|thumb|700px|Figure 1. CBRFC forecast evolution plot showing the multiple probabilistic forecasts of April-July Lake Powell inflows that were made at each stage of the 2020 forecast season as the snowpack evolved. Image: CBRFC; Annotations: Jeff Lukas.]]
+While users typically focus on the "most probable" (50% exceedance) forecasted values, the operational forecasts from both CBRFC and NRCS include multiple values for each forecast point, to represent the uncertainty in the forecast (Figure 1). These are typically expressed in terms of probability-of-exceedance, in which the 90% exceedance is a low-end forecast, with a 90% probability of being exceeded by the actual streamflow volume, and the 10% exceedance is a high-end forecast, with only a 10% probability of being exceeded by the actual streamflow volume.  NRCS has a [https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/factpub/intrpret.html guide to interpreting streamflow forecasts] that explains how users can align their own risk tolerance with a particular exceedance forecast.
-CBRFC seasonal streamflow forecasts are key inputs into Reclamation's operational models, 24-Month Study and MTOM. The forecasted streamflow volumes for the coming season and water year influence the modeled reservoir conditions and thus operational decisions and planning by Reclamation and many other agencies.
+The CBRFC seasonal streamflow forecasts are key inputs into Reclamation's primary operational model for the basin, [[Colorado River Mid-term Modeling System (CRMMS)]], and thus strongly influence operational decisions and planning by Reclamation. Many other water agencies and water users across the basin consult CBRFC and/or NRCS seasonal streamflow forecasts for their own modeling and decision-making.
-Some basin water agencies produce their own seasonal streamflow forecasts for gages not covered by CBRFC or NRCS, typically using methods similar to those of NRCS (see below).
+A number of basin water agencies also produce their own seasonal streamflow forecasts for gages not covered by CBRFC or NRCS, typically using statistical forecast methods similar to those used by NRCS (see below).
 ==Methods==
@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 Lower-elevation watersheds which have little or no snowmelt contributing to the annual hydrology cannot be forecast as skillfully as higher-elevation watersheds that are snowmelt-dominated. In all cases, the primary source of forecast uncertainty and error is due to lack of knowledge of how the weather and climate will evolve between the date the forecast is issued (e.g., April 1st) and the end of the forecast period (e.g., July 31st). Other uncertainty and error comes from inaccurate depictions of the snowpack and/or soil moisture as input into the forecast model, and biases in the model itself.
-The CBRFC uses a ''conceptual'' (or simple ''dynamical'') modeling framework for its seasonal forecasts, coupling a snow model (SNOW-17) with a rainfall-runoff model (Sacramento Soil-Moisture Accounting; SAC-SMA). Conceptual models draw from our understanding of the physics of the real-world watershed, but have very simplified representations of watershed attributes and processes, with 5-20 components and adjustable parameters to relate them to each other. CBRFC runs their models throughout the forecast season (December-July), using historical daily precipitation and temperatures from each year of 1981-2015 to stand in for the unknown future weather. This creates an ensemble of 35 forecast traces, each starting with the same observed initial moisture conditions but individually evolving the modeled snowpack and runoff through the end of the forecast period given the winter/spring weather of 1981, 1982,...2014, 2015. These ESP (Ensemble Streamflow Prediction) forecasts are issued daily, and then become the primary input to the official forecasts issued monthly and semi-monthly.
+[[File:ESP example.png|thumb|500px|Figure 2. Example of CBRFC ESP forecast showing 35 traces that start from the same initial April 1 moisture conditions but apply different April-July weather sequences, drawn from 1981-2015 observations. (Source: CBRFC)]]
+The CBRFC uses a ''conceptual'' (or simple ''dynamical'') modeling framework for its seasonal forecasts, coupling a snow model (SNOW-17) with a rainfall-runoff model (Sacramento-Soil Moisture Accounting; Sac-SMA). Conceptual models draw from our understanding of the physics of the real-world watershed, but have very simplified representations of watershed attributes and processes, with 5-20 components and adjustable parameters to relate them to each other. CBRFC runs their models throughout the forecast season (December-July), using historical daily precipitation and temperatures from each year of 1981-2015 to stand in for the unknown future weather. This creates an ensemble of 35 forecast traces, each starting with the same observed initial moisture conditions but individually evolving the modeled snowpack and runoff through the end of the forecast period given the winter/spring weather of 1981, 1982...2014, 2015. These ESP (Ensemble Streamflow Prediction) forecasts are issued daily, and then become the primary input to the official forecasts issued monthly and semi-monthly.
-NRCS uses a ''statistical'' modeling framework, employing separate regression models for each gage that are calibrated on the historical relationships between streamflow and several watershed predictors, typically snowpack (SWE) and accumulated water-year precipitation at 2-5 SNOTEL sites. Statistical modeling has been the standard-bearer for seasonal streamflow forecasting in the western U.S. for the past 50 years, and only very recently has its skill in the Colorado River Basin been exceeded by dynamical forecasts from CBRFC--which itself previously relied more heavily on statistical models similar to the NRCS framework.
-[[File:<FILENAME>|frame|'''Figure 1.'''   <CAPTION> (Image source: [     ])]]
-==Recent and Ongoing Research==
-CBRFC maintains an active research program to improve
+NRCS uses a ''statistical'' modeling framework, using separate models for each gage that are calibrated on the historical relationships between streamflow and several watershed predictors, typically snowpack (SWE) and accumulated water-year precipitation at several SNOTEL sites. For the past 50 years, NRCS has relied on linear regression modeling, most recently principal components regression, to forecast seasonal streamflow. NRCS is transitioning to a new statistical modeling platform in which several machine-learning methods, plus the legacy principal components regression, are used to generate an ensemble of six forecasts; the ensemble mean is typically more skillful than any one forecast. For the 2024 forecast season, NRCS plans to use the new platform (M4) to produce most of its operational forecasts, with the legacy model still being used at some forecast points.
 ==Data and Tools==
+<onlyinclude>
+===''Operational Forecasts''===
 ===CBRFC===
@@ Line 43: / Line 37: @@
 ====[https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/lmap/lmap.php?interface=wsup CBRFC Conditions Map - Water Supply Forecasts]====
-The Conditions Map can display several different types of hydroclimate information, depending on the tab selected. The Water Supply Forecasts tab, when opened, defaults to the most recent official 1st of month forecasts, but can also display the latest daily ESP forecasts ("Latest Model Guidance"). Clicking on the triangles (forecast points) brings up a thumbnail forecast evolution plot for that point; clicking within the plot opens a page specific to that forecast point, with an interactive forecast evolution plot and links to plots for previous years, calibration and validation data, and historical streamflow volumes for that point.
+[[File:CBRFC conditions map screenshot.png|thumb|200px|[https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/lmap/lmap.php CBRFC Conditions Map - Water Supply Forecasts]]]
+The Conditions Map can display several different types of hydroclimate information, depending on the tab selected. The Water Supply Forecasts tab, when opened, defaults to the most probable (50% exceedance) values for the official 1st of month forecasts, but can also display the latest daily ESP forecasts ("Latest Model Guidance"). Clicking on the triangles (forecast points) brings up a thumbnail forecast evolution plot for that point; clicking within the plot opens a page specific to that forecast point, with an interactive forecast evolution plot and links to plots for previous years, calibration and validation data, and historical streamflow volumes for that point.
-[https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/dash/lp.php CBRFC Upper Colorado Situational Awareness]
+====[https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/dash/lp.php CBRFC Upper Colorado Situational Awareness]====
 This page shows the most recent official forecasts for Lake Powell inflows (~all Upper Basin runoff) for April-July and the water year; maps of observed/modeled soil moisture, snowpack, and precipitation used to inform the forecasts; and graphs showing how the sub-basins' contributions and overall forecasted volume compares with average conditions.
+====[https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/lmap/lmap.php CBRFC Water Supply Official Forecast List]====
-[https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/rmap/wsup/wsuplist.php CBRFC Water Supply Official Forecast List]
 This page features an interactive table with the official 1st of month forecasts for all forecast points. Like the forecast map, it links to the pages for each point.
-[https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/wsup/pub2/discussion/current.pdf CBRFC Water Supply Forecast Discussion]
+====[https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/wsup/pub2/discussion/current.pdf CBRFC Water Supply Forecast Discussion]====
 This document (PDF) discusses provides a general overview of the official (1st and 15th of month) CBRFC forecasts, describing the weather/watershed conditions that have led to the forecasts, as well as forecasts and outlooks for upcoming weather.
-NRCS
+====[https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/present/present.php CBRFC Water Supply Webinars]====
+From January through May, CRBFC presents one-hour webinars around the 7th of the month to explain the latest streamflow forecasts, the weather and snow conditions leading up to the forecasts, and the weather conditions forecasted for the next two weeks. Scroll down to "Presentations 20xx" for a link to the webinar archive for the current year; and then find the Water Supply Webinar" of interest. Both the slides and a recorded video with slides are available.
+===NRCS===
+NRCS likewise has several ways to access and view their seasonal water supply forecasts and related data.
+====[https://nwcc-apps.sc.egov.usda.gov/imap/#version=143&elements=R&networks=!&states=!&counties=!&hucs=&minElevation=&maxElevation=&elementSelectType=all&activeOnly=true&activeForecastPointsOnly=false&hucLabels=false&hucIdLabels=false&hucParameterLabels=false&stationLabels=&overlays=&hucOverlays=2,6&basinOpacity=100&basinNoDataOpacity=100&basemapOpacity=100&maskOpacity=0&mode=data&openSections=dataElement,parameter,date,basin,elements,location,networks,overlays&controlsOpen=true&popup=&popupMulti=&popupBasin=&base=esriNgwm&displayType=station&basinType=6&dataElement=FCST&depth=-8&parameter=PCTAVG&frequency=MONTHLY&duration=primary&customDuration=1&dayPart=E&month=9&monthPart=E&forecastPubDay=1&forecastExceedance=50&seqColor=1&divColor=3&scaleType=D&scaleMin=&scaleMax=&referencePeriodType=POR&referenceBegin=1981&referenceEnd=2010&minimumYears=20&hucAssociations=true&relativeDate=0&lat=38.683&lon=-106.130&zoom=6.5 NRCS Interactive Map - Forecasted Streamflow Volumes]====
+[[File:NRCS interactive map screenshot.png|thumb|200px|NRCS Interactive Map]]
+The NRCS Interactive Map is a versatile tool to access and view all NRCS hydroclimate data, including the seasonal water supply forecasts. The link above has been specifically set up to show the most probable (50% exceedance) values for the current seasonal water supply forecasts, for individual points, but users can select other ways to visualize the forecast data, e.g., by basin, as percentiles, or for different forecast periods. Similar to the CBRFC Conditions Map, clicking on an individual forecast point will bring up a small window with the name of the point and forecasted streamflow volume; clicking on that window will bring up other options for viewing additional data for that point, including other statistics for the forecasted streamflow, and the observed streamflows for the water year.
+====[https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/quicklinks/forecastCharts/#state=CO&basin=GUNNISON%20RIVER%20BASIN&year=2021&pubDate=1-1&period=all&chartWidth=800&normalType=AVG&labelUnit=VOL&forecastLabels=ALL&showForecast=true&showForecastLabel=true&showObserved=false&showObservedLabel=false&showNormal=false&showNormalLabel=false&showMax=false&showMaxLabel=false&showMaxYear=false&showMin=false&showMinLabel=false&showMinYear=false&showNumberObservations=false&hideEmpty=true NRCS Water Supply Forecast Chart]====
+The Water Supply Forecast Chart shows the potential range for the forecasted streamflows (90%-70%-50%-30%-10% exceedances), similar to the shaded bands on the CBRFC forecast evolution plots. Note that the sub-basins within the CRB are shown by state; forecasts for Colorado R at Glen Canyon Dam (i.e., Lake Powell inflows) are accessed under Utah >Southwestern Utah.
+====NRCS State Basin Outlook Reports====
+The Basin Outlook Reports (also known as Water Supply Outlook Reports in some states) are issued monthly or semi-monthly from January through June by the state-level NRCS Snow Survey Offices, and supplement the NRCS seasonal water supply forecasts with  narratives of statewide precipitation, snowpack, and water supply conditions, and additional graphics showing the water supply forecasts by sub-basin, alongside snowpack, precipitation, and reservoir conditions.
+*[https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/snowClimateMonitoring/snowpack/basinDataReports/ Arizona] (issued Jan-Apr)
+*[https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/snowClimateMonitoring/snowpack/basinDataReports/ Colorado]
+*[https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/snowClimateMonitoring/snowpack/basinDataReports/ New Mexico]
+*[https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/snowClimateMonitoring/snowpack/basinDataReports/ Utah]
+*[https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/snowClimateMonitoring/snowpack/basinDataReports/ Wyoming]
+===''Experimental Forecasts''===
+===[https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/product/hydrofcst/hydrofcst.php ASO-informed forecasts for Colorado and Utah (CBRFC)]===
+In collaboration with the [https://coloradosnow.org/ Colorado Airborne Snow Measurements (CASM)] program, the Colorado River Authority of Utah, and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, CBRFC is producing experimental seasonal water-supply forecasts for ~20 gages in Colorado and Utah. In these forecasts--which can supplement, but do not replace, CBRFC's official forecasts for the same gages--SWE estimates from the Airborne Snow Observatories (ASO) lidar system are directly inserted into CBRFC's SNOW-17 snowpack model. In 2024, [https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/product/aso_2024.html the experimental CBRFC forecasts] were produced 2-3 times at each gage between late March and early June. (The 2021-23 forecasts for Colorado gages can be obtained through the embedded table in [https://coloradosnow.org/new-page this page] at CASM.) CBRFC has committed to producing the ASO-informed experimental forecasts in spring 2025.
+===[https://data.airbornesnowobservatories.com ASO-WRF-Hydro forecasts for Colorado and Utah (ASO)]===
+Airborne Snow Observatories (ASO) also produces its own streamflow forecasts for many of the basins across the West in which it conducts flights to generate lidar-based SWE estimates. These forecasts use the WRF-Hydro hydrologic model to translate from SWE and other parameters into runoff. Typically 1-3 forecasts for each gage are produced during the spring runoff season. Free registration is required to view the ASO forecasts.
+===[[Woodson Lees Ferry WY flow forecast]]===
+This forecast procedure was developed by David Woodson as a part of his PhD research at the University of Colorado Boulder.  The forecast uses a machine learning (random forest) model trained on Reclamation annual natural flow for the Colorado River at Lees Ferry, AZ for water years 1921-2023 as the predictand, and predictors including the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), and 12-month forecasts of precipitation and temperature from a climate model.
+===[https://climate.usu.edu/service/droughtPredictionPages/coloradoRiverWaterSupply.php Utah Climate Center - Multi-Year Forecasts of Colorado River Water Supply]===
+These forecasts differ from the other ones listed above in having a much longer outlook period: 1-3 years. These forecasts leverage research that has identified "long-term ocean memory": Anomalies of sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) in the North Pacific and tropical Atlantic, up to 44 months prior to the forecasted year, that impart predictability of Upper Basin streamflow (natural flow at Lees Ferry).
+</onlyinclude>
 ==Additional Resources==
-===State of the Science Report===
+===[https://wwa.colorado.edu/resources/colorado-river-resources/CRBreport Colorado River Basin Climate and Hydrology: State of the Science report]===
-[https://wwa.colorado.edu/publications/reports/CRBreport/ColoRiver_StateOfScience_WWA_2020_Chapter_XX.pdf Chapter XX] of the State of the Science report (XXXXX
+[https://wwa.colorado.edu/publications/reports/CRBreport/ColoRiver_StateOfScience_WWA_2020_Chapter_8.pdf Chapter 8] of the State of the Science report covers many aspects of Streamflow Forecasting in greater detail; Section 8.4 is specific to mid-range forecasts (seasonal and longer). [https://wwa.colorado.edu/publications/reports/CRBreport/ColoRiver_StateOfScience_WWA_2020_Chapter_6.pdf Chapter 6], on Hydrologic Modeling, has a detailed description of the CBRFC forecast model framework in Section 6.3, under ''National Weather Service Models''.
-==New and Notable Research (2020-present)==
+===CBRFC Presentations===
+These two presentations from the October 2020 CBRFC Stakeholder Workshop provide more detail about CBRFC forecast procedures.
+*[https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/present/2020/forum/1_CBRFC_101.pdf CBRFC 101] - More general, covers both short-term and seasonal forecasts
+*[https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/present/2020/forum/2_Water_Year_In_45_min.pdf The Water Year in 45 Minutes] - Specific to seasonal forecasts
-'''[<URL FOR PAPER>]'''
+===[https://www.zotero.org/groups/4274378/colorado_river_science_wiki/collections/BFJJWHZP Wiki Library: Seasonal streamflow forecasts]===
-''Summary''
+The Wiki library lists over 35 research publications on streamflow forecasts that discuss methods and/or products that are relevant to the Colorado River Basin.