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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 IVMRMSPRISMCONUS404      Current maps  Interactive maps of past events
Select average recurrence interval: 10-year100-year1000-year
Select duration: 72-hour48-hour24-hour6-hour
Select year: 200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025

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).

   
010112_0 010412_0 010912_1 010912_2 010912_3 011012_0 011012_1 011112_0 011112_1 011112_2 011212_0 020212_0 020812_0 021212_0 021912_0 022212_0 022312_0 022312_1 022812_0 030512_0 030912_1 031312_0 032312_0 032312_1 032312_2 040112_0 040312_0 040612_0 040912_0 041412_0 042012_0 042012_2 042512_0 042512_1 042712_0 042812_0 042812_1 042912_0 050612_0 050712_0 050712_1 050812_1 050812_2 051112_0 051212_0 051312_0 051312_1 051512_0 051612_0 051712_0 052012_0 052412_0 052512_0 052612_0 052712_0 052812_0 052912_0 053012_0 053012_1 053112_0 060112_1 060212_0 060212_1 060212_2 060312_0 060312_1 060312_2 060412_0 060412_1 060412_2 060412_4 060412_5 060512_0 060612_0 060712_0 060712_1 060712_2 060812_0 060812_1 060812_2 060912_0 061012_0 061012_1 061012_2 061112_0 061112_3 061212_0 061212_1 061212_2 061212_3 061312_1 061312_2 061412_0 061712_0 062012_0 062112_0 062112_1 062512_0 062512_1 062512_2 062612_0 062612_1 062712_0 062712_1 062712_3 062812_0 062812_2 062912_1 062912_2 070112_0 070212_0 070312_0 070412_0 070512_0 070612_0 070612_1 070712_0 070712_1 070812_0 070812_1 070912_0 070912_1 071012_1 071112_0 071112_1 071112_2 071312_1 071312_2 071312_3 071612_0 071712_0 071812_0 071812_1 071912_0 072012_0 072212_0 072212_1 072412_1 072612_0 072712_0 072812_1 080312_0 080512_0 080612_0 080912_0 080912_1 080912_2 081012_0 081012_1 081012_2 081212_0 081212_1 081312_0 081312_1 081412_0 081412_1 081512_0 081512_1 081512_2 081512_3 081712_0 081712_1 081812_0 081812_1 081812_2 081912_0 081912_1 081912_2 081912_3 081912_4 081912_5 082012_1 082012_2 082112_0 082112_1 082312_1 082412_0 082412_1 082412_2 082512_0 082612_0 082612_1 082612_2 082712_1 082712_2 082912_0 082912_1 083012_0 083012_1 083012_2 083012_3 083112_0 090112_0 090212_0 090312_1 090412_0 090612_0 090612_1 090712_0 090712_1 090812_0 090812_1 091012_0 091112_0 091112_1 091212_0 091312_0 091512_0 091512_1 091512_2 091712_0 091712_1 092212_1 092312_0 092412_0 092512_0 092512_1 092612_0 092612_1 092612_2 092812_0 092912_0 100112_0 100212_0 100312_0 100512_0 100512_1 100612_0 100612_1 100612_4 100712_1 100812_1 100812_2 100912_0 101012_0 101212_0 101312_0 101412_0 101412_1 101512_0 101612_0 101712_0 102312_0 102412_0 102612_0 110112_0 110112_1 110712_0 110812_0 110812_1 111312_0 111512_0 112012_0 112612_1 112912_0 120212_0 120212_1 120212_2 120212_3 120312_1 122312_1 122712_0 122812_0 122912_0 123112_0 123112_1

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.