The NCAR WRF-Hydro® Modeling System Technical Description
Until further notice, please cite the WRF-Hydro® modeling system as follows:
Gochis, D.J., M. Barlage, R. Cabell, M. Casali, E. Dougherty, A. Dugger, T. Eidhammer, T. Enzminger, K. FitzGerald, F. Felfelani, A. Gaydos, A. Mazrooei, M. McAllister, J. McCreight, A. McCluskey, N. Omani, A. RafieeiNasab, S. Rasmussen, L. Read, K. Sampson, I. Srivastava, D. Yates, Y. Zhang (2025). The WRF-Hydro® Modeling System Technical Description, (Version 5.4). NCAR Technical Note. Available online at: https://wrf-hydro.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
FORWARD
This Technical Description describes the WRF-Hydro® model coupling architecture and physics options, released in Version 5.4 in January 2025. As the WRF-Hydro® modeling system is developed further, this document will be continuously enhanced and updated. Please send feedback to wrfhydro@ucar.edu.
Prepared by:
David Gochis, Michael Barlage, Ryan Cabell, Matt Casali, Erin Dougherty, Aubrey Dugger, Trude Eidhammer, Tom Enzminger, Katelyn FitzGerald, Farshid Felfelani, Andy Gaydos, Amir Mazrooei, Molly McAllister, James McCreight, Alyssa McCluskey, Nina Omani, Arezoo RafieeiNasab, Soren Rasmussen, Laura Read, Kevin Sampson, Ishita Srivastava, David Yates, and Yongxin Zhang
Special Acknowledgments:
Development of the NCAR WRF-Hydro system has been significantly enhanced through numerous collaborations. The following persons are graciously thanked for their contributions to this effort:
John McHenry and Carlie Coats, Baron Advanced Meteorological Services
Martyn Clark, Fei Chen, Cenlin He, Prasanth Valayamkunnath, Dan Rosen, Rocky Dunlap, Alessandro Fanfarillo, National Center for Atmospheric Research
Zong-Liang Yang, Cedric David, Peirong Lin and David Maidment of the University of Texas at Austin
Harald Kunstmann, Benjamin Fersch and Thomas Rummler of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Alfonso Senatore, University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy
Brian Cosgrove, Ed Clark, Fernando Salas, Trey Flowers, Zhengtao Cui, Xia Feng, Nels Frazier, James Halgren, Don Johnson, Yuqiong Liu, Dave Mattern, Fred Ogden, Cham Phan, Mehdi Rezaeianzadeh, and Tom Graziano of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Water Prediction
Ismail Yucel, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
Erick Fredj, The Jerusalem College of Technology, Jerusalem, Israel
Amir Givati, Surface water and Hydrometeorology Department, Israeli Hydrological Service, Jerusalem.
Antonio Parodi, Fondazione CIMA - Centro Internazionale in Monitoraggio Ambientale, Savona, Italy
Blair Greimann, Sedimentation and Hydraulics section, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Z George Xue and Dongxiao Yin, Louisiana State University
Tim Lahmers and Sujay Kumar, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Funding support for the development and application of the WRF-Hydro® modeling system has been provided by:
The National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research
The U.S. National Weather Service
The Colorado Water Conservation Board
Baron Advanced Meteorological Services
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Water Prediction (OWP)
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Mission Area