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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).

   
010612_0 011812_0 012812_0 013012_0 020112_0 020112_1 020112_2 020212_0 020412_0 021612_0 030612_0 030912_0 031012_0 031112_0 032312_0 032912_0 033012_0 033112_0 040112_0 040112_1 040212_0 041012_0 041012_1 041112_0 041512_0 041612_0 041612_1 041712_0 041712_1 041812_0 041812_1 041912_0 042012_0 042412_0 042412_1 042412_2 042412_3 042512_0 042512_1 042512_2 042512_3 042612_0 042612_1 042712_0 043012_0 050112_0 050112_1 050212_0 050212_1 050312_0 050712_0 050712_1 050812_0 050812_1 050912_0 050912_1 051012_0 051012_1 051012_2 051112_0 051112_1 051112_2 051212_0 051412_0 051612_0 051712_0 051712_1 051812_0 051812_1 051812_2 051812_3 052012_0 052112_0 052112_1 052112_2 052212_0 052312_0 052312_1 052312_2 052412_0 052412_1 052412_2 052512_0 052512_1 052512_2 052512_3 052612_0 052612_1 052612_2 052612_3 052612_4 052712_0 052712_1 052712_2 052812_0 052812_1 052812_2 052812_3 052812_4 052912_0 052912_1 052912_2 053012_0 053012_1 053012_2 053012_3 053012_4 053112_0 053112_1 053112_2 053112_3 060112_0 060112_1 060112_2 060212_0 060312_0 060312_1 060312_2 060412_0 060412_1 060412_2 060412_3 060512_0 060512_1 060612_0 060612_1 060712_0 060912_0 061012_0 061112_0 061212_0 061212_1 061312_0 061412_0 061412_1 061412_2 061512_0 061612_0 061612_1 061612_2 061612_3 061712_0 061812_0 061912_0 062312_0 062312_1 062412_0 062712_0 062712_1 062812_0 062812_1 062812_2 062912_0 062912_1 062912_2 062912_3 063012_0 063012_1 063012_2 070112_0 070112_1 070212_0 070212_1 070212_2 070212_3 070212_4 070212_5 070312_0 070312_1 070312_2 070312_3 070312_4 070412_0 070412_1 070512_0 070512_1 070512_2 070612_0 070612_1 070712_0 070712_1 070812_0 070812_1 070812_2 070812_3 070912_0 070912_1 071012_0 071112_0 071112_1 071112_2 071112_3 071212_0 071212_1 071312_0 071412_0 071612_0 071612_1 071612_2 071712_0 071712_1 071812_0 071912_0 072012_0 072212_0 072312_0 072312_1 072412_0 072512_0 072612_0 072712_0 072712_1 072712_2 072812_0 072812_1 072812_2 072812_3 072912_0 072912_1 072912_2 072912_3 072912_4 073012_0 073012_1 073112_0 073112_1 073112_2 080112_0 080112_1 080112_2 080112_3 080212_0 080212_1 080212_2 080212_3 080312_0 080312_1 080312_2 080312_3 080412_0 080412_1 080412_2 080412_3 080512_0 080512_1 080612_0 080612_1 080612_2 080612_3 080612_4 080712_0 080712_1 080712_2 080712_3 080812_0 080812_1 080812_2 080812_3 080912_0 080912_1 080912_2 081012_0 081012_1 081012_2 081112_0 081112_1 081112_2 081112_3 081112_4 081212_0 081212_1 081212_2 081212_3 081212_4 081312_0 081312_1 081312_2 081312_3 081312_4 081312_5 081412_0 081412_1 081412_2 081412_3 081512_0 081512_1 081612_0 081612_1 081612_2 081712_0 081712_1 081712_2 081912_0 081912_1 081912_2 081912_3 081912_4 082012_0 082012_1 082012_2 082012_3 082112_0 082112_1 082112_2 082112_3 082212_0 082212_1 082212_2 082312_0 082312_1 082412_0 082412_1 082412_2 082412_3 082512_0 082512_1 082612_0 082612_1 082712_0 082712_1 082712_2 082812_0 082812_1 082912_0 082912_1 082912_2 082912_3 082912_4 082912_5 083012_0 083012_1 083012_2 083112_0 083112_1 083112_2 083112_3 090112_0 090112_1 090112_2 090112_3 090112_4 090212_0 090212_1 090212_2 090212_3 090212_4 090312_0 090312_1 090312_2 090412_0 090512_0 090512_1 090512_2 090512_3 090612_0 090712_0 090712_1 090812_0 090812_1 090812_2 090912_0 090912_1 090912_2 090912_3 091012_0 091012_1 091012_2 091412_0 091412_1 091512_0 091512_1 091612_0 091612_1 091612_2 091612_3 091712_0 091712_1 091712_2 091812_0 091812_1 091912_0 091912_1 091912_2 091912_3 092012_0 092012_1 092112_0 092112_1 092112_2 092212_0 092212_1 092212_2 092312_0 092312_1 092412_0 092512_0 092512_1 092612_0 092612_1 092912_0 092912_1 093012_0 093012_1 100112_0 100412_0 100412_1 100712_0 100712_1 100812_0 100812_1 100912_0 100912_1 101012_0 101412_0 101412_1 101412_2 101512_0 101612_0 101712_0 101712_1 101812_0 101812_1 102012_0 102112_0 102512_0 102912_0 110312_0 110412_0 110412_1 110512_0 110512_1 110612_0 110612_1 110712_0 110712_1 110812_0 110812_1 110912_0 112112_0 113012_0 120512_0 121012_0 121112_0 121112_1 121212_0 121512_0 121612_0 121612_1 121712_0 121712_1 121712_2 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.