California Deluge: IDSS and Regional Response during
the Historic Flooding in California in Early 2017 (113)
Matt Solum, NOAA/NWS
Western Region Headquarters, Salt Lake
City, UT
Scott Carpenter, NOAA/NWS
Western Region Headquarters
Leslie Waite-Smith, NOAA/NWS
Western Region Headquarters
Abstract:
From December 2011 to March
2017, the state of California experienced one of the worst droughts to occur in
the region on record. In just a few months to start 2017, northern California
experienced it's wettest winter in almost a century and drought conditions had
been reduced significantly. Many parts of the state were not prepared to handle
the huge volume of rain and snow as a result. The significant rains caused
widespread flooding and damage to roads and highways alone was estimated at
over $1 billion. The flooding also caused extensive damage to the Oroville Dam
spillway which caused concerns for downstream residents that the spillway would
collapse and send a wall of water downstream.
These events necessitated
Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS) be provided by the Western Region
Regional Operations Center (WR ROC), local Weather Forecast Offices (WFO) and
River Forecast Centers (RFC) to National Weather Service (NWS) regional, state
and local core partners throughout this long-lasting and historical event.
Onsite and remote support to the various emergency operations centers,
including the FEMA Region 9 Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC), will
be highlighted.