Make your Colorado Gives Day donation
and take part in the $1 Million Incentive Fund.
A bill to fund the forecasting system is up for its first hearing at the state Capitol Monday.
Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder have been working for decades to develop new modeling systems. They hope to better predict how floods and wildfires will behave. That information could help emergency managers improve their response to disasters.
Bill Mahoney, the deputy director of NCAR's Research Applications Laboratory, said the modeling software has been developed. But state funding is needed to put it into operation.
"It’s unfortunate that technologies that could really serve societal needs could end up sitting on the shelf too long, or never getting into practice at all," Mahoney said.
Mahoney says current flood predictions rely on scattered stream level readings, while the new model accounts for everything from topography to soil moisture.
"You can see how the flood evolves from the very top of the mountains, for example, right down as the flood wave moves down into the plains," he said.
But the price tag to implement the flood and wildfire prediction system is a big hurdle. It's estimated to cost $10 million over five years and it's among many requests for money before lawmakers this session.
You want to know what is really going on these days, especially in Colorado. We can help you keep up. The Lookout is a free, daily email newsletter with news and happenings from all over Colorado. Sign up here and we will see you in the morning!
It takes a good day’s drive to cover Colorado, but we’ll help you do it in a few minutes. Our newsletters bring you a closer look at the stories that affect you and the music that inspires you.
Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. Listen now.