TY - Generic T1 - Analysis of 1983 snowmelt runoff production in the Upper Colorado river basin T2 - 52nd Annual Western Snow Conference Y1 - 1984 A1 - Shafer, B.A. A1 - Jensen, D.T. A1 - Jones, K.C. KW - Colorado flooding, SNOTEL, Snow cover, Snowmelt runoff, Streamflow forecasting AB - Spring and summer streamflow for 1983 was extraordinarily high in the Colorado River Basin as well as many others in the Western United States. Streamflow forecasts in these areas were low by from 30 to 100 percent. An investigation was undertaken to examine the hydrometeorological interactions that produced the unusually high runoff and caused such large errors. The synergistic interaction of snow water equivalent, snow areal extent, temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture were evaluated. SNOTEL data combined with satellite imagery were shown to be highly valuable in interpreting the sequence of events during the runoff period. Major causes for the extreme runoff are summarized and recommendations are made for improving forecast models to better predict future events of a similar nature. JF - 52nd Annual Western Snow Conference T3 - Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Western Snow Conference PB - Western Snow Conference CY - Sun Valley, Idaho UR - sites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/1984Shafer.pdf ER -