OpenForecast: An Assessment of the Operational Run in 2020–2021

Abstract

OpenForecast is the first openly available national-scale operational runoff forecasting system in Russia. Launched in March 2020, it routinely provides 7-day ahead predictions for 834 gauges across the country. Here, we provide an assessment of the OpenForecast performance on the long-term evaluation period from 14 March 2020 to 31 October 2021 (597 days) for 252 gauges for which operational data are available and quality-controlled. Results show that OpenForecast is a robust system based on reliable data and solid computational routines that secures efficient runoff forecasts for a diverse set of gauges.