This dataset includes the models used in the journal article entitled, "Parameter Estimation for Models of Major Rainfall Induced Floods in Ungauged Mountain Basins of Colorado," published in the Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies.  Hydrologic Engineering Center – Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) models are included for the following river basins and major storms in the Front Range and San Juan Range of Colorado: North Fork of the Big Thompson river (1976 storm), Big Thompson River (2013 storm), South Boulder Creek (2013 storm), Bear Creek (2013 storm), Cheyenne Creek (1997 and 2013 storms), Saguache Creek (1999 storm), Vallecito Creek (1970 and 2006 storms), and Mineral Creek (2004 and 2006 storms). In each case, the model produces streamflow hydrographs based on the provided precipitation hyetographs. For each case, calibrated and uncalibrated versions of the models are included. The models also include models that estimate the streamflow for design storms that were generated from the Regional Extreme Precipitation Study.

Each basin and associated historical storm has its own HEC-HMS project or folder.  All project folders have an arbitrary date in the name that is separated by an underscore “_” from the basin name. For basins where only one historical storm was modeled, the Regional Extreme Precipitation Study (REPS) design storms are included in the same HEC-HMS project as the historical storm. This organization applies to Bear Creek, Big Thompson River (BTR), North Fork Big Thompson River (NFBTR), and South Boulder Creek (SBC). Although Saguache Creek has only one historical storm, a separate HEC-HMS project was created for the design storms due to the initial project file sizes.  Basins where multiple historical storms were modeled include Cheyenne Creek, Mineral Creek, and Vallecito Creek.

The HEC-HMS projects (folders) are as follows:

• 201910_Cheyenne1997:  Calibrated and uncalibrated basin models and results for the 1997 storm
• Bear_201909:  Calibrated and uncalibrated basin models and results for the 2013 storm and the design storms
• BTR2013_201909_CombinedSubs:  Calibrated and uncalibrated basin models and results for the 2013 storm and the design storms
• Cheyenne_201909:  Calibrated and uncalibrated basin models and results for the 2013 storm and the design storms
• MineralCreek_202012 (Version 4.8):  Calibrated and uncalibrated basin models and results for the 2006 storm and the design storms
• MineralCreek2004_202012:  Calibrated and uncalibrated basin models and results for the 2004 storm
• NFBTR_201909:  Calibrated and uncalibrated basin models and results for the 1976 storm and the design storms
• SaguacheCreek_202011 (Version 4.8):  Calibrated and uncalibrated basin models and results for the 1999 storm
• SaguacheCreek_DesignStorms (Version 4.8):  Calibrated and uncalibrated basin models and results for the design storms
• SBC_20191028:  Calibrated and uncalibrated basin models and results for the 2013 storm and the design storms
• Vallecito_202010:  Calibrated and uncalibrated basin models and results for 2006 storm and the design storms
• VallecitoCreek2004_202012:  Calibrated and uncalibrated basin models and results for the 2004 storm
• VallecitoCreek1970_202101:  Calibrated and uncalibrated basin models and results for the 1970 storm

Each HEC-HMS project contains the calibrated and uncalibrated basin models as HEC-HMS basin models.  The historical and design storms are represented using HEC-HMS meteorological models. The precipitation gauge time series describes the sub-basin average precipitation for each historical or design storm and are used to construct the meteorological models. The observed discharge at the basin outlet is included as discharge time series.  Reach cross-sections and any reservoir relationships are stored as paired data. Separate control specifications are used for the historical storms and the design storms due to differences in the period of the simulation.  Simulation runs are available for each combination of basin model and meteorological model in the HEC-HMS project. 

The files should be opened using HEC-HMS, which is available from the US Army Corps of Engineers. The HEC-HMS projects are mostly in HEC-HMS Version 4.7 format, but a few have been updated for Version 4.8.  Although the models were built using the terrain processing in Version 4.7, the associated geographical information system layers have been removed to reduce the size of the HEC-HMS projects.  It is anticipated that all models can be run in Version 4.8 or later.