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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).

   
011012_0 013112_0 020912_0 020912_1 020912_2 021012_0 021312_0 030112_0 030112_1 030212_0 031012_0 032912_0 033112_0 040312_0 040412_0 040712_0 040812_0 041312_0 041312_1 042012_0 042612_0 042812_0 042912_0 042912_1 042912_2 043012_0 043012_1 050112_0 050112_1 050712_0 050812_0 050912_0 051012_0 051112_0 051212_0 051212_1 051212_2 051312_0 051312_1 051312_2 051512_0 051512_1 051512_2 051612_0 051612_1 051912_0 052112_0 052212_0 052312_0 052412_0 052412_1 052512_0 052512_1 052612_0 052612_1 052712_0 052712_1 052812_0 052812_1 052812_2 052812_3 052812_4 052812_5 052912_0 052912_1 052912_2 053112_0 053112_1 060112_0 060112_1 060112_2 060112_3 060212_0 060212_1 060412_0 060412_1 060512_0 060612_0 060612_1 060812_0 060812_1 060812_2 060912_0 060912_1 060912_2 060912_3 061012_0 061012_1 061112_0 061112_1 061112_2 061212_0 061212_1 061212_2 061312_0 061312_1 061412_0 061412_1 061512_0 061512_1 061512_2 061612_0 061612_1 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 062112_1 062212_0 062312_0 062312_1 062312_2 062312_3 062412_0 062412_1 062412_2 062512_0 062512_1 062512_2 062512_3 062512_4 062612_0 062612_1 062612_2 062712_0 062712_1 062712_2 062812_0 062812_1 062812_2 062912_0 062912_1 062912_2 062912_3 062912_4 063012_0 063012_1 063012_2 070112_0 070112_1 070112_2 070212_0 070212_1 070212_2 070312_0 070312_1 070412_0 070412_1 070412_2 070612_0 070612_1 070712_0 070812_0 070812_1 070912_0 070912_1 070912_2 070912_3 071012_0 071012_1 071112_0 071112_1 071112_2 071112_3 071112_4 071212_0 071212_1 071312_0 071312_1 071312_2 071412_0 071412_1 071412_2 071512_0 071512_1 071512_2 071512_3 071612_0 071612_1 071612_2 071612_3 071612_4 071612_5 071612_6 071712_0 071712_1 071712_2 071812_0 071912_0 072112_0 072112_1 072212_0 072212_1 072212_2 072412_0 072412_1 072512_0 072612_0 072712_0 072812_0 072812_1 072812_2 072812_3 072812_4 072912_0 072912_1 072912_2 073012_0 073112_0 073112_1 073112_2 080112_0 080112_1 080112_2 080212_0 080212_1 080212_2 080212_3 080312_0 080312_1 080312_2 080312_3 080412_0 080412_1 080412_2 080412_3 080412_4 080512_0 080512_1 080612_0 080612_1 080612_2 080712_0 080712_1 080712_2 080812_0 080812_1 080912_0 080912_1 081012_0 081012_1 081012_2 081012_3 081012_4 081112_0 081112_1 081112_2 081212_0 081212_1 081212_2 081312_0 081312_1 081312_2 081312_3 081312_4 081412_0 081412_1 081412_2 081512_0 081512_1 081512_2 081612_0 081612_1 081612_2 081612_3 081612_4 081712_0 081712_1 081812_0 081812_1 081812_2 081912_0 081912_1 081912_2 081912_3 081912_4 081912_5 082012_0 082012_1 082012_2 082012_3 082112_0 082112_1 082112_2 082112_3 082212_0 082212_1 082212_2 082212_3 082212_4 082312_0 082312_1 082312_2 082312_3 082412_0 082412_1 082412_2 082412_3 082412_4 082512_0 082512_1 082512_2 082612_0 082712_0 082712_1 082712_2 082712_3 082712_4 082712_5 082812_0 082812_1 082912_0 082912_1 083012_0 083112_0 083112_1 083112_2 090112_0 090112_1 090112_2 090112_3 090212_0 090312_0 090312_1 090412_0 090412_1 090412_2 090512_0 090512_1 090512_2 090512_3 090512_4 090612_0 090712_0 090712_1 090712_2 090712_3 090712_4 090812_0 090812_1 090812_2 090812_3 090812_4 090912_0 090912_1 090912_2 090912_3 090912_4 091012_0 091012_1 091012_2 091012_3 091112_0 091212_0 091312_0 091312_1 091312_2 091312_3 091412_0 091412_1 091612_0 091612_1 091612_2 091712_0 091712_1 091712_2 091812_0 091812_1 091812_2 091912_0 091912_1 091912_2 092012_0 092012_1 092112_0 092112_1 092112_2 092112_3 092212_0 092212_1 092312_0 092312_1 092412_0 092512_0 092512_1 092612_0 092612_1 092712_0 092812_0 092912_0 092912_1 092912_2 093012_0 100112_0 100312_0 100412_0 100812_0 100912_0 100912_1 101012_0 101012_1 101012_2 101112_0 101412_0 101712_0 102212_0 102412_0 102412_1 110512_0 111712_0 112312_0 112412_0 112612_0 112612_1 112612_2 112912_0 121012_0 121012_1 121112_0 121212_0 122112_0 122212_0 122412_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.