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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: 2002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026

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).

   
011612_0 011712_1 011812_0 011812_1 020412_1 020512_0 020712_1 020812_0 021412_0 021512_1 021512_3 021512_4 021612_0 021612_2 021612_3 022312_0 022312_1 022412_1 022612_0 022712_0 022712_2 022812_0 022812_2 030412_0 030712_0 030812_0 031312_0 031312_1 031412_0 031412_1 032212_0 040512_0 040812_0 040912_1 040912_2 041112_0 042012_0 042212_0 042312_2 042412_0 042412_1 042512_0 042612_0 050112_0 050112_1 050212_0 050412_0 050712_0 050812_2 050912_0 050912_2 051012_0 051112_0 051112_1 051212_0 051712_0 051812_0 051812_1 051912_0 052012_0 052012_2 052112_0 052112_2 052212_0 052212_1 052212_2 052312_0 052412_0 052412_1 052512_0 052612_1 052612_2 052712_1 052712_3 052812_0 052812_1 052912_0 052912_1 052912_2 053012_1 053012_2 060212_2 060312_0 060312_2 060412_0 060412_1 060412_3 060512_1 060612_0 060712_1 060712_2 060812_0 060812_1 060812_2 060812_3 060912_0 061012_0 061112_0 061312_0 061612_1 061712_0 061812_1 061812_2 061912_1 061912_2 061912_3 062012_1 062112_0 062112_1 062112_2 062112_3 062212_0 062212_1 062212_2 062312_0 062312_1 062312_2 062412_0 062512_0 062612_0 062712_0 062812_0 062812_1 062812_2 062912_2 062912_3 063012_1 063012_2 063012_3 070112_1 070112_6 070212_0 070212_1 070212_2 070212_3 070312_1 070412_0 070412_2 070412_3 070512_0 070612_0 070612_1 070612_2 070712_1 070712_2 070712_3 070812_0 070812_1 070812_2 070812_4 070812_5 070812_6 070912_0 070912_1 070912_2 070912_3 071012_0 071012_1 071112_0 071512_0 071512_2 071512_3 071612_0 071612_1 071612_3 071712_0 071712_1 071812_0 071912_0 071912_1 071912_2 072012_0 072112_1 072112_2 072212_0 072212_1 072212_2 072312_0 072312_1 072312_2 072412_0 072512_0 072712_0 072712_1 072812_0 072912_0 080112_1 080112_3 080212_1 080212_2 080212_3 080312_0 080412_0 080412_2 080812_1 080812_2 080912_0 080912_1 081012_0 081012_1 081012_2 081112_0 081112_3 081212_0 081212_2 081212_3 081312_0 081312_1 081312_3 081412_1 081412_2 081512_0 081612_2 081612_3 081712_0 081712_1 081712_2 081812_0 081812_1 081812_2 081912_0 082012_0 082112_0 082212_0 082212_1 082212_2 082212_3 082312_1 082412_0 082412_1 082412_2 082512_0 082512_1 082512_2 082612_1 082612_2 082712_0 082712_1 082712_2 082912_0 083012_0 090612_0 090712_0 090812_1 090912_0 091012_0 091012_1 091112_0 091212_0 091212_1 091212_2 091312_0 091312_1 091512_0 091612_0 091812_0 091812_1 091912_0 091912_1 092012_0 092012_3 092012_4 092112_2 092112_3 092112_4 092112_5 092212_0 092212_1 092212_2 092212_3 092312_0 092312_1 092412_0 092512_0 092512_1 092512_2 092612_0 092912_0 092912_1 093012_0 093012_1 093012_2 093012_3 100112_0 100112_2 100212_0 100212_1 100312_1 100312_2 100312_3 100412_1 100412_2 100512_0 100712_0 100712_1 100812_0 100812_1 101012_0 101212_0 101812_0 102012_0 102612_0 102712_0 103112_0 110112_0 110112_1 110512_0 110612_0 112112_0 112212_0 112812_1 112912_0 112912_1 112912_2 113012_0 113012_1 120312_0 121412_0 121412_2 121512_0 122112_0 122212_0 122512_0 122612_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.