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Monitoring of heavy precipitation events

These images show locations where average recurrence intervals for precipitation have been exceeded. These are referred to, for example, as "100-year rainstorms", though this terminology can cause confusion, so a more accurate description is "less than a 1% probability of occurring at a given location in any given year." This is an automated search for the types of events discussed in Schumacher and Johnson (2005, 2006) and Stevenson and Schumacher (2014), using gridded precipitation analyses, as well as updated to use NOAA's Atlas 14 to define the average recurrence intervals. (In the states of Washington and Oregon, Atlas 14 has not yet been updated, so no points are shown.) Archived images from past events when the thresholds have been exceeded are shown below.

Each dataset has been regridded to a 4-km latitude-longitude grid (the same grid used by the PRISM Climate Group) prior to calculating the exceedance points. This allows for a closer "apples-to-apples" comparison between precipitation datasets. The archive of past events is actively under development; if you don't yet see images for a particular dataset/duration, check back soon! Recent data (e.g., within the current year) has not undergone quality control, so use recent maps with caution.


Select dataset: Stage IVMRMSPRISMCONUS404CoCoRaHS      Current maps  Interactive maps of past events
Select average recurrence interval: 10-year100-year1000-year
Select duration: 72-hour48-hour24-hour6-hour
Select year: 198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022

Left arrow for previous frame, right arrow for next, space to pause/play; click to open image in new tab. Each event is listed as "mmddhh_e" (2-digit month, 2-digit day, 2-digit hour for end of accumulation period, one digit for the event number on this date).

   
011912_0 011912_1 011912_2 012012_0 012012_1 012112_0 012112_1 012212_0 013012_0 022212_0 030412_0 030912_0 031412_0 031612_0 031612_1 031712_0 031812_0 032012_0 032012_1 032012_2 032112_0 032212_0 032412_0 032512_0 032912_0 033012_0 033012_1 033012_2 040312_0 040312_1 040412_0 040412_1 040712_0 041212_0 041412_0 041512_0 041512_1 041712_0 042012_0 042612_0 042712_0 050212_0 050312_0 050312_1 050412_0 050412_1 050412_2 050512_0 050512_1 050612_0 050712_0 050812_0 050912_0 051012_0 051412_0 051412_1 051412_2 051512_0 051512_1 051512_2 051512_3 051612_0 052212_0 052312_0 052412_0 052712_0 052712_1 052812_0 052812_1 052812_2 052912_0 053012_0 053012_1 053012_2 053112_0 060212_0 060512_0 060512_1 060512_2 060612_0 060612_1 060612_2 060612_3 060712_0 060712_1 060712_2 060712_3 060812_0 060812_1 060912_0 060912_1 060912_2 061012_0 061012_1 061112_0 061112_1 061112_2 061212_0 061312_0 061512_0 061512_1 061512_2 061612_0 061712_0 061712_1 061812_0 061812_1 061912_0 062112_0 062112_1 062312_0 062412_0 062412_1 062412_2 062512_0 062512_1 062612_0 062712_0 062712_1 062712_2 062812_0 063012_0 070112_0 070212_0 070312_0 070512_0 070512_1 070612_0 070612_1 070712_0 070812_0 070812_1 070912_0 070912_1 070912_2 070912_3 071012_0 071012_1 071012_2 071012_3 071112_0 071212_0 071212_1 071312_0 071312_1 071312_2 071412_0 071412_1 071412_2 071512_0 071512_1 071512_2 071512_3 071512_4 071512_5 071612_0 071612_1 071612_2 071612_3 071712_0 071712_1 071712_2 071812_0 071912_0 071912_1 072012_0 072012_1 072112_0 072112_1 072112_2 072212_0 072412_0 072412_1 072412_2 072412_3 072512_0 072512_1 072712_0 072712_1 072812_0 072812_1 072812_2 072912_0 072912_1 072912_2 072912_3 073012_0 073112_0 073112_1 080112_0 080412_0 080412_1 080412_2 080512_0 080612_0 080612_1 080712_0 080812_0 080912_0 080912_1 081012_0 081012_1 081012_2 081012_3 081012_4 081112_0 081112_1 081112_2 081212_0 081212_1 081312_0 081412_0 081512_0 081612_0 081612_1 081712_0 081712_1 081712_2 081812_0 081812_1 082012_0 082012_1 082012_2 082112_0 082112_1 082112_2 082212_0 082212_1 082212_2 082212_3 082312_0 082312_1 082312_2 082412_0 082512_0 082612_0 082612_1 082712_0 082712_1 082712_2 082712_3 082812_0 082812_1 082912_0 082912_1 083012_0 083012_1 083012_2 083012_3 083112_0 083112_1 083112_2 090112_0 090112_1 090112_2 090212_0 090212_1 090312_0 090312_1 090312_2 090312_3 090412_0 090412_1 090412_2 090412_3 090412_4 090512_0 090512_1 090512_2 090512_3 090512_4 090612_0 090612_1 090712_0 090712_1 090712_2 090812_0 090912_0 090912_1 090912_2 091112_0 091112_1 091212_0 091212_1 091312_0 091312_1 091312_2 091412_0 091512_0 091712_0 091712_1 091812_0 091912_0 091912_1 092012_0 092412_0 092812_0 092912_0 093012_0 093012_1 100112_0 101312_0 101312_1 101412_0 101412_1 102412_0 102912_0 103012_0 111012_0 111012_1 112012_0 112112_0 112112_1 113012_0 120112_0 120112_1 120212_0 120312_0 120512_0 120512_1 120512_2 121012_0 122712_0

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. AGS-2337380. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.



DISCLAIMER: The images and data on this site are intended for meteorological education and research purposes and, although they should generally be up to date, are not monitored at all times. Do not use for making decisions where money or lives are at stake. For official forecasts and warnings, visit the National Weather Service.