Articles | Volume 23, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-2001-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-2001-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
06 Jun 2023
Research article |
| 06 Jun 2023
| 06 Jun 2023
A methodological framework for the evaluation of short-range flash-flood hydrometeorological forecasts at the event scale
Maryse Charpentier-Noyer
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Univ Gustave Eiffel, GERS-LEE, 44344 Bouguenais, France
Daniela Peredo
UMR Metis, Sorbonne Université, 75252 Paris, France
INRAE, Université Paris-Saclay, UR HYCAR, 92160 Antony, France
Axelle Fleury
CNRM, Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, 31000 Toulouse, France
Hugo Marchal
CNRM, Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, 31000 Toulouse, France
François Bouttier
CNRM, Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, 31000 Toulouse, France
Eric Gaume
Univ Gustave Eiffel, GERS-LEE, 44344 Bouguenais, France
Pierre Nicolle
Univ Gustave Eiffel, GERS-LEE, 44344 Bouguenais, France
Olivier Payrastre
Univ Gustave Eiffel, GERS-LEE, 44344 Bouguenais, France
Maria-Helena Ramos
INRAE, Université Paris-Saclay, UR HYCAR, 92160 Antony, France
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Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 9945–9966, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-9945-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-9945-2025, 2025
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Each vehicle from road traffic is a source of heat and an obstacle that induce wind when it passes. It directly impacts the local atmospheric conditions and the road surface temperature. These impacts are included in the numerical model of the Town Energy Balance, used to simulate local conditions in urbanised environments. Simulations show that road traffic has a significant impact on the road surface temperature up to a few degrees, and on local variables.
Bob E. Saint-Fleur, Eric Gaume, Florian Surmont, Nicolas Akil, and Dominique Theriez
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4244, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4244, 2025
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This paper emphasizes the need to account for operational constraints when developing discharge forecast models. Using an open access dataset (CAMELS-US) for hydrology, two established rainfall-runoff models (LSTM and SAC-SMA), and a multilayer perceptron for implementation, we evaluate the importance of data assimilation, the persistence and ensemble analysis under various scenario. Results show DA is crucial, and models performances can sharply drop from idealized to operational conditions.
Annie Y.-Y. Chang, Shaun Harrigan, Maria-Helena Ramos, Massimiliano Zappa, Christian M. Grams, Daniela I. V. Domeisen, and Konrad Bogner
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Cloé David, Clotilde Augros, Benoit Vié, François Bouttier, and Tony Le Bastard
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 3715–3745, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3715-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3715-2025, 2025
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Simulations of storm characteristics and associated radar signatures were improved, especially under the freezing level, using an advanced cloud scheme. Discrepancies between observations and forecasts at and above the melting layer highlighted issues in both the radar forward operator and the microphysics. To overcome some of these issues, different parameterizations of the operator were suggested. This work aligns with the future integration of polarimetric data into assimilation systems.
Hugo Marchal, François Bouttier, and Olivier Nuissier
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2613–2628, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2613-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2613-2025, 2025
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This paper investigates the relationship between changes in weather forecasts and predictability, which has so far been considered weak. By studying how weather scenarios persist over successive forecasts, it appears that conclusions can be drawn about forecasts' reliability.
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Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 2963–2983, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2963-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2963-2025, 2025
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This paper describes a dataset that includes input, output, and validation data for the simulation of flash flood hazards and three specific flash flood events in the French Mediterranean region. This dataset is particularly valuable as flood mapping methods often lack sufficient benchmark data. Additionally, we demonstrate how the hydraulic method we used, named Floodos, produces highly satisfactory results.
Gabriel Colas, Valéry Masson, François Bouttier, Ludovic Bouilloud, Laura Pavan, and Virve Karsisto
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 3453–3472, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3453-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3453-2025, 2025
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In winter, snow- and ice-covered artificial surfaces are important aspects of the urban climate. They may influence the magnitude of the urban heat island effect, but this is still unclear. In this study, we improved the representation of the snow and ice cover in the Town Energy Balance (TEB) urban climate model. Evaluations have shown that the results are promising for using TEB to study the climate of cold cities.
Juliette Godet, Eric Gaume, Pierre Javelle, Thomas Dias, Pierre Nicolle, and Olivier Payrastre
Abstr. Int. Cartogr. Assoc., 9, 16, https://doi.org/10.5194/ica-abs-9-16-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/ica-abs-9-16-2025, 2025
François Bouttier and Hugo Marchal
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2793–2816, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2793-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2793-2024, 2024
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Weather prediction uncertainties can be described as sets of possible scenarios – a technique called ensemble prediction. Our machine learning technique translates them into more easily interpretable scenarios for various users, balancing the detection of high precipitation with false alarms. Key parameters are precipitation intensity and space and time scales of interest. We show that the approach can be used to facilitate warnings of extreme precipitation.
Thibault Hallouin, François Bourgin, Charles Perrin, Maria-Helena Ramos, and Vazken Andréassian
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 4561–4578, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-4561-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-4561-2024, 2024
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The evaluation of the quality of hydrological model outputs against streamflow observations is widespread in the hydrological literature. In order to improve on the reproducibility of published studies, a new evaluation tool dedicated to hydrological applications is presented. It is open source and usable in a variety of programming languages to make it as accessible as possible to the community. Thus, authors and readers alike can use the same tool to produce and reproduce the results.
Juliette Godet, Eric Gaume, Pierre Javelle, Pierre Nicolle, and Olivier Payrastre
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1403–1413, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1403-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1403-2024, 2024
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This work was performed in order to precisely address a point that is often neglected by hydrologists: the allocation of points located on a river network to grid cells, which is often a mandatory step for hydrological modelling.
Juliette Godet, Olivier Payrastre, Pierre Javelle, and François Bouttier
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3355–3377, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3355-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3355-2023, 2023
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This article results from a master's research project which was part of a natural hazards programme developed by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition. The objective of this work was to investigate a possible way to improve the operational flash flood warning service by adding rainfall forecasts upstream of the forecasting chain. The results showed that the tested forecast product, which is new and experimental, has a real added value compared to other classical forecast products.
Emixi Sthefany Valdez, François Anctil, and Maria-Helena Ramos
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 197–220, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-197-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-197-2022, 2022
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We investigated how a precipitation post-processor interacts with other tools for uncertainty quantification in a hydrometeorological forecasting chain. Four systems were implemented to generate 7 d ensemble streamflow forecasts, which vary from partial to total uncertainty estimation. Overall analysis showed that post-processing and initial condition estimation ensure the most skill improvements, in some cases even better than a system that considers all sources of uncertainty.
Samira Khodayar, Silvio Davolio, Paolo Di Girolamo, Cindy Lebeaupin Brossier, Emmanouil Flaounas, Nadia Fourrie, Keun-Ok Lee, Didier Ricard, Benoit Vie, Francois Bouttier, Alberto Caldas-Alvarez, and Veronique Ducrocq
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17051–17078, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17051-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17051-2021, 2021
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Heavy precipitation (HP) constitutes a major meteorological threat in the western Mediterranean. Every year, recurrent events affect the area with fatal consequences. Despite this being a well-known issue, open questions still remain. The understanding of the underlying mechanisms and the modeling representation of the events must be improved. In this article we present the most recent lessons learned from the Hydrological Cycle in the Mediterranean Experiment (HyMeX).
Pierre Nicolle, Vazken Andréassian, Paul Royer-Gaspard, Charles Perrin, Guillaume Thirel, Laurent Coron, and Léonard Santos
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5013–5027, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5013-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5013-2021, 2021
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In this note, a new method (RAT) is proposed to assess the robustness of hydrological models. The RAT method is particularly interesting because it does not require multiple calibrations (it is therefore applicable to uncalibrated models), and it can be used to determine whether a hydrological model may be safely used for climate change impact studies. Success at the robustness assessment test is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition of model robustness.
Nabil Hocini, Olivier Payrastre, François Bourgin, Eric Gaume, Philippe Davy, Dimitri Lague, Lea Poinsignon, and Frederic Pons
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2979–2995, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2979-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2979-2021, 2021
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Efficient flood mapping methods are needed for large-scale, comprehensive identification of flash flood inundation hazards caused by small upstream rivers. An evaluation of three automated mapping approaches of increasing complexity, i.e., a digital terrain model (DTM) filling and two 1D–2D hydrodynamic approaches, is presented based on three major flash floods in southeastern France. The results illustrate some limits of the DTM filling method and the value of using a 2D hydrodynamic approach.
Olivier Caumont, Marc Mandement, François Bouttier, Judith Eeckman, Cindy Lebeaupin Brossier, Alexane Lovat, Olivier Nuissier, and Olivier Laurantin
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 1135–1157, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1135-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1135-2021, 2021
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This study focuses on the heavy precipitation event of 14 and 15 October 2018, which caused deadly flash floods in the Aude basin in south-western France.
The case is studied from a meteorological point of view using various operational numerical weather prediction systems, as well as a unique combination of observations from both standard and personal weather stations. The peculiarities of this case compared to other cases of Mediterranean heavy precipitation events are presented.
Manon Cassagnole, Maria-Helena Ramos, Ioanna Zalachori, Guillaume Thirel, Rémy Garçon, Joël Gailhard, and Thomas Ouillon
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1033–1052, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1033-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1033-2021, 2021
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Short summary
This paper proposes a methodological framework designed for event-based evaluation in the context of an intense flash-flood event. The evaluation adopts the point of view of end users, with a focus on the anticipation of exceedances of discharge thresholds. With a study of rainfall forecasts, a discharge evaluation and a detailed look at the forecast hydrographs, the evaluation framework should help in drawing robust conclusions about the usefulness of new rainfall ensemble forecasts.
This paper proposes a methodological framework designed for event-based evaluation in the...
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