Quantifying Extreme Rainfall using the Storm Precipitation Analysis System

To better understand the spatiotemporal pattern of extreme precipitation events, SCIPP will continue its collaboration with Applied Weather Associates (AWA) (e.g., Keim et al. 2018; Brown et al. 2020b) to create a database of extreme precipitation events across the U.S. (SPAS). AWA has supplied SCIPP with ~800 unique depth-area-duration (DAD) tables for > 500 extreme precipitation events across the U.S from 1810–2019. The storms analyzed by SPAS are generally the largest precipitation events that have occurred in the U.S. in the observational record and control probable maximum precipitation estimates in the country. DAD tables from each storm will be compiled into one database and metadata, such as location (lat./lon.), date, duration, storm type (synoptic characteristics), and magnitude, will be included. This will enable SCIPP to query the database and investigate the spatiotemporal patterns of extreme precipitation analyzed by SPAS.