LINKAGES TO NATIONAL AND NOAA PRIORITIES

• Creates a strategy for responding to seasonal-to-interannual forecasts of increased likelihood of severe coastal storms associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

• Explores mesoscale physical processes that can locally amplify large-scale effects of climate variability.

• Focuses on identifying an optimal observing system for short-term (0-24 h) mesoscale QPF, which addresses two of USWRP's three core areas: quantitative precipitation forecasting, and studies of optimal observing systems for weather prediction.

• Accelerates development and field tests of new instruments and observing strategies for potential use during a large Pacific experiment (THORPEX) being considered by USWRP.

• Links USWRP objectives to the problem of coastal weather impacts and end-user needs, the importance of which is highlighted by NOAA's COASTS Initiative NOAA (Fig. 5).

• Addresses high priorities within the NWS strategic plan, including improved prediction of runoff through better QPF and NEXRAD quantitative precipitation estimation wind forecasts in the coastal zone, and prediction of orographic precipitation enhancement.