NASA’s Iowa Flood Study Hangout

NASA experts and guests to discuss what they’ve seen so far in the field, what goes into a flood forecast, how scientists are improving them with better rain measurements, and the role of satellites for addressing flood hazards globally.
A soggy 2013 spring, with near record rainfall in some areas, has led to flood warnings in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. With the floodwaters come questions as millions brace for the next wave of thunderstorms: Will this be another multi-billion dollar flood like the ones that hammered the Midwest in 1993 and 2008? How much rainwater will fall into rivers, and where will those rivers flood into towns? Just how good are those flood predictions, and could they be better?

Since May 1, NASA, the Iowa Flood Center, and other researchers have been watching the rainfall in action in a field campaign to measure rain and precipitation from rain gauges on the ground, advanced weather radars, and satellites. Called the Iowa Flood Studies, the campaign seeks to improve satellite measurements of rain that directly feed into the models that predict floods.

The Hangout features:

Walt Petersen, NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement Mission
Witek Krajewski, Director of the Iowa Flood Center
Pedro Restrepo, Hydrologist-in-Charge, NOAA-NWS North Central River Forecast Center
Maria LaRosa, The Weather Channel