José Rodolfo Valles León
Ministry of Environment, National Directorate of Water (DINAGUA), Uruguay
José Rodolfo Valles León is a Civil Engineer with a master’s degree in water science and engineering, specializing in Hydroinformatics from IHE-Delft, Netherlands. Since 2011, he has been working in operational hydrological forecasting, impact-based forecasting, hydrological modeling, and early warning systems for droughts and floods.
From 2011 to 2019, José Valles worked with the Hydrometeorological Services in El Salvador, enhancing hydrological services and supporting decision-making in water management. In 2019, he joined the National Directorate of Water (Dinagua) in Uruguay, where he leads the Hydrological Forecast Room. He is responsible for producing operational forecasts and issuing flood and drought warnings for the National Emergency System (Sinae), incorporating impact-based approaches to support timely and effective actions.
José Valles is also an active participant in several World Meteorological Organization (WMO) groups. Regionally, he contributes to the Hydrological and Water Resources Group in RAIII. Globally, he serves as Uruguay’s hydrological advisor, a member of the Standing Committee of Hydrological Services (SC- HYD), and part of the World Weather Research Programme steering group for “Integrated Prediction of Precipitation and Hydrology for Early Actions” (InPRHA).
With his experience in operational hydrological forecasting and early warning systems, José Valles contributes to advancing regional and global efforts in water management and disaster risk reduction.