Regional Hydrodynamic Model Outputs of the NOAA Columbia River Estuary Operational Forecast System (CREOFS)

NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) has developed a Columbia River Estuary Operational Forecast System (CREOFS). CREOFS is based on a three-dimensional SELFE model that runs on NOAA's High Performance Computers (HPC). CREOFS provides water level, currents, water temperature and salinity nowcast and forecast guidance as well as interpolated winds from National Weather Service products for five separate subdomains: Upper Columbia River subdomain, Middle Columbia River subdomain, Lower Columbia River subdomain, Columbia River Bar Entrance subdomain, and the mouth and offshore subdomain of the Columbia River. CREOFS runs four times per day and generates 6-hour nowcasts and 48-hour forecast guidance. CREOFS products include time series graphics at station locations and aerial animations of the Columbia River Estuary for all five parameters (wind, water level, currents, temperature and salinity).