![[Skip Navigation]](/images/pixel.gif){kind=tracking}
|
Coastal Storms Program
Southern CaliforniaPrecipitation AtlasAs part of the Coastal Storms Program, NOAA updated precipitation frequency estimates for the state of California to be included in NOAA Atlas 14. The updates will be published as subsequent volumes of NOAA Atlas 14, “Precipitation Frequency Atlas for the United States,” on the Web at www.nws.noaa.gov/ohd/hdsc. The new NOAA Atlas 14 estimates represent vastly improved data for both period of record and station density, state of the art statistical techniques, and a new approach that accounts for variation in terrain. Precipitation frequency atlases are used for a multitude of planning and design purposes—from developing floodplain maps, determining flood insurance rates, and designing storm drainage systems, flood control structures, roads, and bridges. The provided information allows civil engineers and public officials to account for different levels of rainfall in their designs and plans and make better-informed decisions. How the Project Will WorkCombining the resources of the Army Corps of Engineers, the California Department of Transportation, and NOAA’s Coastal Storms Program, NOAA updated the NOAA Atlas 14 for the state of California. The study determined the annual exceedance probabilities (AEP) and average recurrence intervals (ARI) for durations ranging from 5 minutes to 60 days and for ARIs from 1 to 1,000 years. The point estimates will be spatially interpolated to a resolution of approximately 4 x 4 kilometers. The publication of the study results include access through the Precipitation Frequency Data Server, base grids in standard formats, electronic copies of maps, results from trend analyses, charts of seasonal distributions and probabilistic temporal distributions, and detailed documentation. The project is reviewing and processing all reasonably available rainfall data necessary for the regional update. For Additional InformationJohn F. Kuhn |
