HydroData Toolkit

HydroData is a python package and toolkit for working with point observations and gridded model datasets of hydrologic systems in the United States for use in connection with the HydroGEN system for hydrological modeling. HydroData is available at https://hydroframe.org/hydrodata. The goal in developing the HydroData toolkit was to evaluate watershed conditions across many variables at once all with one interface. 

Background: 
Water is the driving force behind extreme weather events, damaging the nation’s people and economically straining the US. Hydrological research, analysis, and forecasts to predict adverse weather events is needed to mitigate and prevent damages. Hydrologic datasets come from many different sources. Much of it is freely accessible but it takes a lot of work to format and quality control the data to make it usable. Integrating quality hydrological data into one source for modeling helps with creating more accurate simulations to help decision makers. 

Applications: 

• Forecasting hydrological scenarios
• Analyzing groundwater problems
• Risk management for insurance purposes
• Aid for wildfire planners, forest management, and water management

Advantages: 

• One interface for many datasets
• Can evaluate multiple variables at once
• Physical models generated 
• Advance models generated
• Web-based (easier and on-demand access)
• Advanced software