388
NOUS41 KBTV 180903
PNSBTV
NYZ026>031-034-035-087-VTZ001>012-016>019-182115-

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Burlington VT
503 AM EDT Thu Mar 18 2021

...National Flood Safety Awareness Week Continues... 

The National Weather Service in Burlington, VT has declared March
14 through March 20 as Flood Safety Awareness Week. Each day during
the awareness week will feature information about a different flood
related topic. Todays topic is NWS Water Resources Information.

The NWS homepage, www.weather.gov, provides up to date weather and
water advisory, watch and warning information for the U.S and its
territories. However, the NWS provides many additional resources to
help emergency managers, public officials and private citizens make
water decisions.

When flooding threatens, the National Weather Service may issue
different types of warnings, depending on the flood threat.

Flood Warnings for major rivers - These warnings are issued for
specific points on major rivers, and include forecasts of water
levels and indications of flood severity.

  * Minor Flooding - minimal or no property damage, but possibly
    some public threat or inconvenience.
  * Moderate Flooding - some inundation of structures and roads
    near streams. Some evacuations  of people and/or transfer of
    property to higher elevations are necessary.
  * Major Flooding - extensive inundation of structures and
    roads. Significant evacuations of people and/or transfer of
    property to higher elevations.

Flood Warnings for Small Rivers and Streams - These warnings are
issued for smaller rivers and streams. River gage information may or
may not be available.

Flash Flood Warnings - These warnings are issued for an area when
rapid, life threatening rises in water levels are expected. Flash
floods may be caused by very heavy rainfall in a very short period
of time, a dam or levee failure, or sudden release of water held by
an ice or debris jam. When a Flash Flood Warning is issued of flash
flooding is observed, time is of the essence. Immediate action must
be taken to protect life and property.

The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, or AHPS, provides a
suite of river and flood forecasts and water information that
includes current and forecast river levels, as well as precipitation
totals. AHPS also provides longer term probabilistic forecasts of
river levels for customers making risk based decisions. AHPS can be
accessed by going to the NWS Burlington home page at
www.weather.gov/btv and clicking the Rivers and Lakes icon.
Alternatively, AHPS information is available at water.weather.gov.

Flood Inundation Mapping: The ability to look into the future to see
how many city blocks and roads might be flooded is becoming clearer
with flood inundation mapping. NOAA`s NWS and National Ocean Service
are collaborating with the USGS, USACE, FEMA and other partners to
develop these inundation maps for flooding. Go to
water.weather.gov/ahps/inundation.php for more information.

The Weather Prediction Center, or WPC, provides precipitation
forecasts for the entire U.S, including Puerto Rico. WPC also issues
excessive rainfall forecasts, short-range discussions on heavy
rainfall events, and snowfall and freezing rain probabilities. Go to
www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/ for more information.

The National Weather Service has a network of thirteen River
Forecast Centers (RFCs) across the United States. These RFCs
collect, process, and provide information on water resources and
river forecasts for major river basins across the country. Please go
to water.weather.gov/ahps/rfc/rfc/php for more information.

For flood safety awareness information, go to
www.weather.gov/floodsafety. Here one can find information on what
to do before, during and after a flood.

Staying aware of an evolving weather situation can help you prepare
when flooding or other weather hazards impact your area. Be a Force
of Nature! weather.gov/wrn.

$$