1. Peter May and Beth Ebert CAWCR Bureau of Meteorology Australia
Water issues
Peter May and Beth Ebert
CAWCR
Bureau of Meteorology
Australia

2. Precipitation measurement (1)
Rain gauges still the "gold standard"
Snow measurements an issue
Radar the "next best"
National networks going polarimetric
Emerging international standards for QC & formats to facilitate best practice and data exchange
Satellite – quasi-global coverage
Require bias correction
Global Precipitation Mission (GPM)
Research satellites (CloudSat, EarthCARE, etc.) for process studies

3. Precipitation measurement (2)
Merged gauge+radar+satellite products needed
Finer space/time scales?
Challenging regions
High latitudes, tropics, oceans, developing nations
Special observation datasets
TOMACS, HyMeX, SCRMEX, etc.
Can we get even more value from existing datasets, e.g., COPS?

4. Precipitation modelling
Convection parameterization in large-scale models
Is large-scale rain adequately modelled?
High resolution ensemble modelling
Representation of microphysical processes
How important is coupled atm-ocean-land for short & medium range forecasts of rain?
More coordinated precipitation modelling experiments (beyond intercomparisons)

5. Precipitation nowcasting
Can we do any better with radar nowcasts or have we extracted most/all information?
Ditto with satellite?
Assimilation of radar & satellite into rapid update NWP closing the nowcast-forecast gap
RDPs/FDPs have accelerated progress – need for more?

6. Precipitation forecasting & warning
Interpretation of high resolution NWP, esp. from ensembles
How to handle uncertainty – edge between determinism and probability, big impacts from small errors
Slow progress in key parameterisations in global models
Communication of heavy rain warnings & forecasts in most meaningful way
Working with users – emergency managers, dam operators, agriculture sector, etc.

7. Impact prediction Who is responsible?
How best to input precipitation to downstream predictions?
Hazard impacts – flooding, debris flows, road icing, damage to infrastructure
Water balance and water resources
Need for two-way coupling via land surface model?

8. Verification and value assessment
Obs issues impact on verification
User-focused verification methods
How to estimate economic value of precipitation forecasts?
Hazard mitigation, resource estimation
How to obtain and use relevant economic information in commercially sensitive world?