Kevin Low works as a hydrologist for the USGS, as part of the team who forecasts flood crests on the Missouri River. This talk goes out to all the river rats who spend days anxiously refreshing the River Forecast Center page to find out whether we’ll reach flood levels — and who are puzzled when the weather service fails to warn them.

Plus: Learn how to interpret more complex probability information given out by the service, and hear the latest research on climate change’s impact on the river.

Download the presentation

Don’t have an hour, but have 7 minutes? Looking for classroom connections? Watch this Big Muddy Highlight on climate change from Kevin’s talk.

Explore more

• Missouri Basin River Forecast Center: The latest flooding predictions or current observations, at monitoring stations along the Missouri River basin. Choose from current observations to 9-day-out predictions.
  • Create a custom river page: just the data from just the locations you are interested in. Predictions or data on the past are available.
• Follow the Missouri Basin River Forecast Center on Facebook and Twitter.
• 2016’s flood outlook. The snowpack in the Rockies is small this year, so despite wet soil conditions, the USGS is expecting a milder year.
• Explore the report on climate change’s possible impacts on the Great Plains.

What are your experiences with flood and weather predictions? Leave us a comment!