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National Weather Service forecasters work closely with hydrologists, who are water experts. A weather forecaster estimates how much rainfall is likely from a particular storm, and the hydrologist figures out how much that precipitation will cause certain rivers and streams to rise.

Forecasters also keep operators of federal and state dams informed as major storm systems approach large river systems. Sometimes a dam is good for saving water when there is too little, and sometimes a dam is good for saving a downstream city where there is too much. If they know a big storm is on the way, dam operators sometimes release more water from their spillways to make more room in their reservoirs to hold floodwaters.

Regional River Forecast Centers are spread around 13 locations in the United States. These centers are where National Weather Service forecasters prepare river and flood forecasts and warnings for approximately 3,000 communities around the country.