Halcrow led and delivered a training programme to help those responsible for flood forecasting better identify and manage the risks posed to UK communities, businesses and the environment.
The course provides training in hydrometeorology – a discipline which combines meteorology and hydrology to provide optimised solutions. Meteorological products can be used to improve flood forecasting reliability, while data from a broad range of hydrological applications can be used and compared to give greater confidence in developing forecasting, prediction and warning solutions.
In 2009, hydrologists from the UK’s Environment Agency and meteorologists from national weather service the Met Office were brought together under the umbrella of the Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) in an operational 24/7 environment. The partnership found that specific training was required to bring each member of the FFC team to the level of operational hydrometeorologist. Halcrow’s extensive hydrometeorological knowledge and thorough understanding of user requirements made it the perfect choice to develop a 12-month training programme.