Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH, pronounced “Cairo”)
CIROH, a partnership between NOAA and the University of Alabama, is a national consortium committed to advancing water prediction – the forecasting of streamflow entering water systems, extreme events such as floods and droughts, and water quality – and building community resilience to water-related challenges. CIROH scientists work to improve the understanding of hydrologic processes, operational hydrologic forecasting techniques and workflows, community water modeling, translation of forecasts to actionable products, and use of water predictions in decision making.
The University of Hawaiʻi (UH), led by Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), is one of the lead partners in CIROH. UH faculty, postdocs, and students from a variety of disciplines advance important watershed modeling and related research under the CIROH program. CIROH-Hawaiʻi research is aimed at improving NOAA capabilities to predict water flows, including flooding, especially in Hawaiʻi.
National Water Center
CIROH provides expertise for research-to-operations to serve the needs of the National Water Center.
“The National Water Center (NWC) is a first-in-the world facility that will enable NOAA, in partnership with other federal agencies, to deliver a new generation of water information and services to the nation. These new services will strengthen the nation’s water forecast capabilities for floods and droughts, improve preparedness for water-related disasters, and inform high-value water decisions at the local, state, and national levels. By complementing existing regional River Forecast Centers with a national center, the National Weather Service (NWS) water mission area mirrors the highly successful structure of the meteorological side of the NWS.”
Vision and Mission of the National Water Center
“The National Water Center fosters scientific excellence and innovation, driving water prediction to support decisions for a water-resilient nation. Scientists at the Center will collaboratively research, develop and deliver state-of-the-science national hydrologic analyses, forecast information, data, decision-support services and guidance to support and inform essential emergency services and high-value water management decisions.” (https://water.noaa.gov/about/