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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).

   
010212_0 010212_1 010412_0 010712_0 010812_0 010812_1 012512_0 012512_1 020712_0 021612_0 022312_0 022812_0 030212_0 032312_0 032412_0 032612_0 032712_0 032912_0 040112_0 040412_0 041112_0 041612_0 041712_0 041812_0 041812_1 041912_0 042512_0 042712_0 042712_1 042712_2 042812_0 042912_0 042912_1 043012_0 050212_0 050312_0 050312_1 050512_0 050512_1 050612_0 050612_1 050812_0 050812_1 050912_0 051612_0 051612_1 051712_0 051712_1 051712_2 051812_0 051912_0 052012_0 052212_0 052212_1 052212_2 052312_0 052312_1 052412_0 052412_1 052412_2 052512_0 052512_1 052512_2 052612_0 052612_1 052612_2 052612_3 052612_4 052712_0 052712_1 052712_2 052812_0 052812_1 052912_0 052912_1 053012_0 060112_0 060112_1 060212_0 060212_1 060212_2 060212_3 060312_0 060312_1 060312_2 060512_0 060612_0 060612_1 060612_2 060712_0 060712_1 060912_0 060912_1 061012_0 061012_1 061112_0 061112_1 061112_2 061112_3 061112_4 061112_5 061112_6 061212_0 061212_1 061212_2 061412_0 061412_1 061512_0 061512_1 061512_2 061512_3 061612_0 061612_1 061612_2 061712_0 061712_1 061712_2 061812_0 061812_1 061812_2 061812_3 061912_0 061912_1 061912_2 061912_3 061912_4 062012_0 062012_1 062012_2 062112_0 062212_0 062212_1 062412_0 062512_0 062612_0 062612_1 062712_0 062712_1 062712_2 062712_3 062912_0 070112_0 070112_1 070212_0 070212_1 070312_0 070312_1 070312_2 070312_3 070312_4 070412_0 070412_1 070412_2 070512_0 070512_1 070512_2 070612_0 070612_1 070612_2 070612_3 070712_0 070812_0 070812_1 070912_0 070912_1 071012_0 071012_1 071212_0 071212_1 071212_2 071312_0 071312_1 071312_2 071412_0 071412_1 071512_0 071512_1 071612_0 071812_0 072112_0 072212_0 072212_1 072212_2 072312_0 072312_1 072412_0 072512_0 072612_0 072712_0 072712_1 072712_2 072712_3 072812_0 072812_1 072912_0 072912_1 072912_2 072912_3 073012_0 073012_1 073012_2 073112_0 073112_1 073112_2 073112_3 080112_0 080212_0 080312_0 080612_0 080612_1 080612_2 080712_0 080712_1 080712_2 080812_0 080812_1 080812_2 080912_0 080912_1 080912_2 081212_0 081212_1 081312_0 081312_1 081512_0 081512_1 081512_2 081512_3 081612_0 081712_0 081712_1 081812_0 081812_1 081812_2 081912_0 082012_0 082012_1 082012_2 082112_0 082112_1 082212_0 082212_1 082212_2 082212_3 082312_0 082312_1 082412_0 082412_1 082412_2 082512_0 082612_0 082612_1 082712_0 082812_0 082812_1 082812_2 082912_0 082912_1 082912_2 082912_3 082912_4 083012_0 083112_0 083112_1 090112_0 090112_1 090212_0 090312_0 090412_0 090412_1 090512_0 090512_1 090612_0 090612_1 090712_0 090712_1 090812_0 090812_1 090812_2 090812_3 090912_0 090912_1 090912_2 090912_3 091012_0 091012_1 091112_0 091112_1 091112_2 091112_3 091212_0 091212_1 091212_2 091212_3 091212_4 091212_5 091212_6 091212_7 091312_0 091312_1 091312_2 091312_3 091312_4 091412_0 091412_1 091512_0 091512_1 091512_2 091512_3 091512_4 091612_0 091612_1 091612_2 091712_0 091712_1 091712_2 091812_0 091812_1 091812_2 091912_0 091912_1 092012_0 092112_0 092212_0 092212_1 092212_2 092312_0 092412_0 092412_1 092412_2 092512_0 092512_1 092512_2 092512_3 092612_0 092612_1 092612_2 092612_3 092712_0 092812_0 100512_0 100912_0 101312_0 101312_1 101412_0 101412_1 101512_0 102112_0 102212_0 102512_0 102612_0 102712_0 102712_1 102912_0 103012_0 110912_0 111112_0 111212_0 111312_0 112112_0 112212_0 112512_0 112612_0 120812_0 120812_1 121512_0 121612_0 121612_1 121812_0 121912_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.