US company 3TIER Environmental Forecast Group has announced the launch of a new long-term forecast product designed specifically for continental-scale river systems.

The modelling system creates probabilistic forecasts of river flow months in advance and accounts for small-scale processes, including regional variations in snow-pack, soil moisture and precipitation.

The first deployment of the system will be on the Columbia river in the Pacific Northwest.

With a combined hydroelectric generation potential exceeding 22,000MW, the power produced along the Columbia is exported throughout the entire Western US, typically generating over half the region’s electricity.