• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
• /
• 2016.05a
• /
• pp.197-197
• /
• 2016

Forecasting future drought events in a region plays a major role in water management and risk assessment of drought occurrences. The creeping characteristics of drought make it possible to mitigate drought's effects with accurate forecasting models. Drought forecasts are inevitably plagued by uncertainties, making it necessary to derive forecasts in a probabilistic framework. In this study, a new probabilistic scheme is proposed to forecast droughts, in which a discrete-time finite state-space hidden Markov model (HMM) is used aggregated with the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP) precipitation projection (HMM-RCP). The 3-month standardized precipitation index (SPI) is employed to assess the drought severity over the selected five stations in South Kore. A reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm is used for inference on the model parameters which includes several hidden states and the state specific parameters. We perform an RCP precipitation projection transformed SPI (RCP-SPI) weight-corrected post-processing for the HMM-based drought forecasting to derive a probabilistic forecast that considers uncertainties. Results showed that the HMM-RCP forecast mean values, as measured by forecasting skill scores, are much more accurate than those from conventional models and a climatology reference model at various lead times over the study sites. In addition, the probabilistic forecast verification technique, which includes the ranked probability skill score and the relative operating characteristic, is performed on the proposed model to check the performance. It is found that the HMM-RCP provides a probabilistic forecast with satisfactory evaluation for different drought severity categories, even with a long lead time. The overall results indicate that the proposed HMM-RCP shows a powerful skill for probabilistic drought forecasting.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.22 no.8
• /
• pp.965-977
• /
• 2013

Reliable long-term streamflow forecasting is invaluable for water resource planning and management which allocates water supply according to the demand of water users. It is necessary to get probabilistic forecasts to establish risk-based reservoir operation policies. Probabilistic forecasts may be useful for the users who assess and manage risks according to decision-making responding forecasting results. Probabilistic forecasting of seasonal inflow to Andong dam is performed and assessed using selected predictors from sea surface temperature and 500 hPa geopotential height data. Categorical probability forecast by Piechota's method and logistic regression analysis, and probability forecast by conditional probability density function are used to forecast seasonal inflow. Kernel density function is used in categorical probability forecast by Piechota's method and probability forecast by conditional probability density function. The results of categorical probability forecasts are assessed by Brier skill score. The assessment reveals that the categorical probability forecasts are better than the reference forecasts. The results of forecasts using conditional probability density function are assessed by qualitative approach and transformed categorical probability forecasts. The assessment of the forecasts which are transformed to categorical probability forecasts shows that the results of the forecasts by conditional probability density function are much better than those of the forecasts by Piechota's method and logistic regression analysis except for winter season data.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.22 no.8
• /
• pp.953-963
• /
• 2013

Reliable long-term streamflow forecasting is invaluable for water resource planning and management which allocates water supply according to the demand of water users. Forecasting of seasonal inflow to Andong dam is performed and assessed using statistical methods based on hydrometeorological data. Predictors which is used to forecast seasonal inflow to Andong dam are selected from southern oscillation index, sea surface temperature, and 500 hPa geopotential height data in northern hemisphere. Predictors are selected by the following procedure. Primary predictors sets are obtained, and then final predictors are determined from the sets. The primary predictor sets for each season are identified using cross correlation and mutual information. The final predictors are identified using partial cross correlation and partial mutual information. In each season, there are three selected predictors. The values are determined using bootstrapping technique considering a specific significance level for predictor selection. Seasonal inflow forecasting is performed by multiple linear regression analysis using the selected predictors for each season, and the results of forecast using cross validation are assessed. Multiple linear regression analysis is performed using SAS. The results of multiple linear regression analysis are assessed by mean squared error and mean absolute error. And contingency table is established and assessed by Heidke skill score. The assessment reveals that the forecasts by multiple linear regression analysis are better than the reference forecasts.

• Atmosphere
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.59-72
• /
• 2016

The comparison of prediction errors in geopotential height, temperature, and precipitation forecasts is made quantitatively to evaluate medium-range forecast skills between Global Seasonal Forecasting System version 5 (GloSea5) and Unified Model (UM) in operation by Korea Meteorological Administration during 2014. In addition, the performances in prediction of sea surface temperature anomaly in NINO3.4 region, Madden and Julian Oscillation (MJO) index, and tropical storms in western north Pacific are evaluated. The result of evaluations appears that the forecast skill of UM with lower values of root-mean square error is generally superior to GloSea5 during forecast periods (0 to 12 days). The forecast error tends to increase rapidly in GloSea5 during the first half of the forecast period, and then it shows down so that the skill difference between UM and GloSea5 becomes negligible as the forecast time increases. Precipitation forecast of GloSea5 is not as bad as expected and the skill is comparable to that of UM during 10-day forecasts. Especially, in predictions of sea surface temperature in NINO3.4 region, MJO index, and tropical storms in western Pacific, GloSea5 shows similar or better performance than UM. Throughout comparison of forecast skills for main meteorological elements and weather extremes during medium-range, the effects of initial and model errors in atmosphere-ocean coupled model are verified and it is suggested that GloSea5 is useful system for not only seasonal forecasts but also short- and medium-range forecasts.

• Atmosphere
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.269-287
• /
• 2009

CAT (clear-air turbulence) forecasting algorithm, the Graphical Turbulence Guidance (GTG) system developed at NCAR (national center for atmospheric research), is evaluated with available observations (e.g., pilot reports; PIREPs) reported in South Korea during the recent 5 years (2003-2008, excluding 2005). The GTG system includes several steps. First, 44 CAT indices are calculated in the domain of the Regional Data Assimilation and Prediction System (RDAPS) analysis data with 30 km horizontal grid spacing provided by KMA (Korean Meteorological Administration). Second, 10 indices that performed ten best forecasting scores are selected. Finally, 10 indices are combined by measuring the score based on the probability of detection, which is calculated using PIREPs exclusively of moderate-or-greater intensity. In order to investigate the best performance of the GTG system in Korea, various statistical examinations and sensitivity tests of the GTG system are performed by yearly and seasonally classified PIREPs. Performances of the GTG system based on yearly distributed PIREPs have annual variations because the compositions of indices are different from each year. Seasonal forecasting is generally better than yearly forecasting, because selected CAT indices in each season represent meteorological condition much more properly than applying the selected CAT indices to all seasons. Wintertime forecasting is the best among the four seasonal forecastings. This is likely due to that the GTG system consists of many CAT indices related to the jet stream, and turbulence associated with the jet stream can be activated mostly in wintertime under strong jet magnitude. On the other hand, summertime forecasting skill is much less than other seasons. Compared with current operational CAT prediction system (KITFA; Korean Integrated Turbulence Forecasting System), overall performance of the GTG system is better when CAT indices are selected seasonally.

• Atmosphere
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.293-309
• /
• 2020

There are lots of indices that define the intensity of East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) in climate systems. This paper assesses the prediction skill for EASM indices in a Global Seasonal Forecasting System (GloSea5) that is currently operating at KMA. Total 5 different types of EASM indices (WNPMI, EAMI, WYI, GUOI, and SAHI) are selected to investigate how well GloSea5 reproduces them using hindcasts with 12 ensemble members with 1~3 lead months. Each index from GloSea5 is compared to that from ERA-Interim. Hindcast results for the period 1991~2010 show the highest prediction skill for WNPMI which is defined as the difference between the zonal winds at 850 hPa over East China Sea and South China Sea. WYI, defined as the difference between the zonal winds of upper and lower level over the Indian Ocean far from East Asia, is comparatively well captured by GloSea5. Though the prediction skill for EAMI which is defined by using meridional winds over areas of East Asia and Korea directly affected by EASM is comparatively low, it seems that EAMI is useful for predicting the variability of precipitation by EASM over East Asia. The regressed atmospheric fields with EASM index and the correlation with precipitation also show that GloSea5 best predicts the synoptic environment of East Asia for WNPMI among 5 EASM indices. Note that the result in this study is limited to interpret only for GloSea5 since the prediction skill for EASM index depends greatly on climate forecast model systems.

• Water Engineering Research
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.123-134
• /
• 2002

A developed Quantitative Flood Forecasting (QFF) model was applied to the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The model incorporated the evolving structure and frequency of intense weather systems of the study area for improved flood forecasting. Besides using radiosonde and rainfall data, the model also used the satellite-derived characteristics of storm systems such as tropical cyclones, mesoscale convective complex systems and convective cloud clusters associated with synoptic atmospheric conditions as Input. Here, we present results from the application of the Quantitative Flood Forecasting (QFF) model in 2 small watersheds along the leeward side of the Appalachian Mountains in the mid-Atlantic region. Threat scores consistently above 0.6 and close to 0.8 ∼ 0.9 were obtained fur 18 hour lead-time forecasts, and skill scores of at least 40% and up to 55 % were obtained.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.815-831
• /
• 2021

Drought forecasting is crucial to minimize the damage to food security and water resources caused by drought. Satellite-based drought research has been conducted since 1980s, which includes drought monitoring, assessment, and prediction. Unlike numerous studies on drought monitoring and assessment for the past few decades, satellite-based drought forecasting has gained popularity in recent years. For successful drought forecasting, it is necessary to carefully identify the relationships between drought factors and drought conditions by drought type and lead time. This paper aims to provide an overview of recent research trends and challenges for satellite-based drought forecasts focusing on lead times. Based on the recent literature survey during the past decade, the satellite-based drought forecasting studies were divided into three groups by lead time (i.e., short-term, sub-seasonal, and seasonal) and reviewed with the characteristics of the predictors (i.e., drought factors) and predictands (i.e., drought indices). Then, three major challenges-difficulty in model generalization, model resolution and feature selection, and saturation of forecasting skill improvement-were discussed, which led to provide several future research directions of satellite-based drought forecasting.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
• /
• 2002.05a
• /
• pp.43-50
• /
• 2002

Accurate quantitative forecasting of rainfall for basins with a short response time is essential to predict streamflow and flash floods. Previously, neural networks were used to develop a Quantitative Precipitation Forecasting (QPF) model that highly improved forecasting skill at specific locations in Pennsylvania, using both Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) output and rainfall and radiosonde data. The objective of this study was to improve an existing artificial neural network model and incorporate the evolving structure and frequency of intense weather systems in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States for improved flood forecasting. Besides using radiosonde and rainfall data, the model also used the satellite-derived characteristics of storm systems such as tropical cyclones, mesoscale convective complex systems and convective cloud clusters as input. The convective classification and tracking system (CCATS) was used to identify and quantify storm properties such as life time, area, eccentricity, and track. As in standard expert prediction systems, the fundamental structure of the neural network model was learned from the hydroclimatology of the relationships between weather system, rainfall production and streamflow response in the study area. The new Quantitative Flood Forecasting (QFF) model was applied to predict streamflow peaks with lead-times of 18 and 24 hours over a five year period in 4 watersheds on the leeward side of the Appalachian mountains in the mid-Atlantic region. Threat scores consistently above .6 and close to 0.8 ∼ 0.9 were obtained fur 18 hour lead-time forecasts, and skill scores of at least 4％ and up to 6％ were attained for the 24 hour lead-time forecasts. This work demonstrates that multisensor data cast into an expert information system such as neural networks, if built upon scientific understanding of regional hydrometeorology, can lead to significant gains in the forecast skill of extreme rainfall and associated floods. In particular, this study validates our hypothesis that accurate and extended flood forecast lead-times can be attained by taking into consideration the synoptic evolution of atmospheric conditions extracted from the analysis of large-area remotely sensed imagery While physically-based numerical weather prediction and river routing models cannot accurately depict complex natural non-linear processes, and thus have difficulty in simulating extreme events such as heavy rainfall and floods, data-driven approaches should be viewed as a strong alternative in operational hydrology. This is especially more pertinent at a time when the diversity of sensors in satellites and ground-based operational weather monitoring systems provide large volumes of data on a real-time basis.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.50 no.11
• /
• pp.769-779
• /
• 2017

As the occurrence of drought is recently on the rise, the reliable drought forecasting is required for developing the drought mitigation and proactive management of water resources. This study developed a probabilistic hydrological drought forecasting method using the Bayesian Networks and drought propagation relationship to estimate future drought with the forecast uncertainty, named as the Propagated Bayesian Networks Drought Forecasting (PBNDF) model. The proposed PBNDF model was composed with 4 nodes of past, current, multi-model ensemble (MME) forecasted information and the drought propagation relationship. Using Palmer Hydrological Drought Index (PHDI), the PBNDF model was applied to forecast the hydrological drought condition at 10 gauging stations in Nakdong River basin. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was applied to measure the forecast skill of the forecast mean values. The root mean squared error (RMSE) and skill score (SS) were employed to compare the forecast performance with previously developed forecast models (persistence forecast, Bayesian network drought forecast). We found that the forecast skill of PBNDF model showed better performance with low RMSE and high SS of 0.1~0.15. The overall results mean the PBNDF model had good potential in probabilistic drought forecasting.