HydroForecast is resilient to data input outages, and when gauge data is unavailable, HydroForecast can provide the most accurate understanding of on-the-ground conditions.
At a number of sites in the competition, observation data was unavailable for multiple weeks. We believe that this occurred due to gauges freezing; it can also happen if data sources or systems go down or are unreliable. In these instances, streamflow forecasts like HydroForecast can provide water resource managers and hydropower operators with the best available data. In the event shown below on the Peribonka River in Québec, observed flow values from the streamflow gauges were unavailable between December 16, 2020 and January 1, 2021, likely due to freezing. During this period, HydroForecast predicted an inflow event that surged 2,000 CFS above the long-term average for the basin. Without HydroForecast’s predictions, operators would not have had the information available to quantify the magnitude or timing of the event.
