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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).

   
012012_0 012012_1 012112_0 012112_1 012212_0 012312_0 012312_1 013012_0 020712_0 020812_0 020812_1 022212_0 022612_0 031012_0 031112_0 031312_0 031412_1 031512_0 032912_0 033012_0 033012_1 033012_2 033112_0 033112_1 033112_2 040712_0 041412_0 041512_0 041612_0 041612_2 041712_0 041712_1 041812_0 041812_1 042312_0 042312_1 042312_2 042412_0 042412_2 042512_0 042712_0 043012_0 050212_0 050312_0 050412_0 050512_0 051212_0 051212_1 051312_1 051412_0 051512_0 051512_1 051512_2 051612_0 051612_1 051712_0 051812_0 051812_1 051912_0 051912_2 052012_0 052012_2 052212_0 052412_0 052512_0 052512_1 052512_3 052512_4 052512_5 052512_6 052612_0 052612_1 052612_2 052612_3 052712_0 052712_1 052812_0 052812_2 052812_3 052812_4 052812_5 052912_0 052912_2 052912_3 053012_0 060112_0 060112_1 060212_0 060312_0 060412_0 060412_1 060612_0 060612_1 060712_0 060712_1 060712_2 060812_1 060912_0 060912_1 061012_0 061012_1 061012_2 061112_0 061112_1 061112_2 061212_0 061212_1 061312_0 061312_1 061412_1 061412_2 061412_3 061512_0 061612_0 061612_2 061612_3 061712_0 061712_1 061712_2 061712_3 061712_4 061712_5 061812_0 061812_1 062012_1 062112_0 062212_0 062212_1 062212_2 062212_4 062312_0 062312_1 062312_2 062312_3 062312_4 062312_5 062312_6 062412_0 062412_2 062512_1 062612_0 062712_0 062712_1 062812_0 062812_1 062912_0 062912_3 070112_0 070212_0 070212_1 070312_0 070312_1 070312_2 070312_3 070312_4 070412_0 070512_0 070512_2 070512_3 070612_1 070612_2 070712_0 070712_1 070812_0 070812_1 070812_2 070912_1 070912_3 071012_0 071012_1 071012_2 071012_3 071012_4 071012_5 071112_0 071112_1 071112_3 071112_4 071212_0 071312_0 071312_2 071412_0 071412_1 071412_2 071412_3 071512_0 071512_3 071612_2 071612_3 071712_1 071712_2 071712_3 071812_0 071812_1 071812_2 071912_1 072012_1 072012_2 072012_3 072112_2 072112_4 072212_1 072212_2 072212_3 072212_4 072312_0 072312_1 072312_2 072312_4 072412_0 072412_1 072412_2 072412_3 072512_0 072512_1 072512_2 072612_0 072612_2 072712_0 072812_1 072912_1 073012_0 073012_2 073112_0 073112_1 080112_1 080112_2 080212_0 080212_1 080212_3 080212_4 080312_0 080312_1 080312_2 080412_0 080412_1 080412_3 080412_4 080512_2 080512_3 080512_5 080612_0 080712_0 080712_1 080912_0 080912_1 081012_0 081012_1 081012_2 081012_3 081112_1 081212_0 081212_1 081412_1 081412_2 081512_0 081612_0 081612_1 081712_0 081712_1 081812_1 081812_3 081912_0 081912_1 082012_2 082012_3 082012_4 082012_5 082112_1 082112_2 082212_0 082312_0 082412_0 082412_1 082412_3 082412_4 082512_0 082512_1 082512_2 082512_3 082512_4 082612_0 083112_1 083112_2 090212_0 090212_1 090312_1 090312_2 090712_0 090712_1 090812_0 090912_0 091012_1 091012_3 091012_4 091112_0 091112_2 091212_0 091512_0 091612_1 091712_0 091712_1 091812_0 091912_0 092012_0 092012_1 092112_0 092312_0 092312_1 092312_2 092312_3 092412_0 092412_1 092512_0 092612_0 092812_0 092912_0 093012_0 093012_1 100112_0 100212_0 100312_0 100512_0 100512_1 100512_2 100612_1 100612_2 100712_0 101012_0 101612_0 102112_0 102212_0 102212_1 102412_0 102512_0 102512_1 102512_2 102612_0 102612_2 110512_0 111312_0 120112_0 120212_0 121412_0 121412_1 121912_0 121912_2 122012_0 122012_1 122112_0 122212_0 122312_0 123012_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.