§9704 Service Coordination Hydrologists at River Forecast Centers of the National Weather Service

Summary

The head of the National Weather Service must place at least one service coordination hydrologist at every River Forecast Center. That hydrologist’s main job is to improve flood-related services and decision support for the area covered by their center. They must help users respond to floods by providing local service, talking with the public, media, scientists, and users in fields like hydropower, transportation, recreation, farming, forestry, fisheries, and water management to see if forecasts and products are useful. They must work with forecast offices and government partners to change or tailor products, join efforts to explore forecast-informed reservoir operations, keep flood contact lists, policies, and warning methods up to date, and coordinate with emergency and floodplain managers for planned and effective preparedness and response. They can also work with State agencies to promote use of NWS products, set community preparedness goals, make plans, and run public education and planning. The Director can assign any of these tasks to other staff.