Reclamation Information Sharing Environment (RISE)

In Water Year 2022, three snow-on Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) flights were completed in the Carson, Tahoe, and Truckee Basins. The ASO data was integrated into the California-Nevada River Forecast Center (RFC) models to produce experimental runoff forecasts. Results of the RFC’s standard and experimental runoff forecasts were run through the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA) Reservoir Operations RiverWare model. The ASO results were also used for numerous smaller analyses to provide any operational insight possible. The smaller studies checked runoff efficiency, qualitatively back-checked forecasted runoff volumes, and compared ASO estimates of SWE to RFC’s SNOW-17 estimates of SWE.