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Estimating Bounds on Extreme Precipitation Events A Brief Assessment (1994) / Chapter Skim
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Introduction
Pages 5-10

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From page 5...
... First, estimates are made of the maximum rainfall anticipated for the drainage basin under consideration for time scales appropriate to flood production in the basin. Second, the maximum rainfall is converted to river discharge, velocities, and shear stresses using numerical models.
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From page 6...
... Questions relating to proximity, physical setting, and storm type arise in deciding how to use the Smethport observation in assessing rainfall bounds in Washington, D.C. There are currently over 10,000 high-hazard dams in the United States (FEMA 1993~.
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From page 7...
... Specifically, the committee was requested to: · evaluate current scientific understanding of extreme precipitation events; · evaluate the status of the measure PMP; and · examine alternatives to PMP for characterizing extreme precipitation events, as well as new technologies that might provide a stronger basis for determining PMP or its alternatives. Since there were only sufficient resources for a limited assessment, the
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From page 8...
... This definition represents PMP as a physical upper bound on precipitation accumulation, with the magnitude of PMP depending on location, duration, and storm area. The procedures for estimation of PMP were developed in the United States largely as meteorological analyses (see Myers, 1967, for a historical overview of PMP)
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From page 9...
... We recently witnessed dramatic events in the Midwest during 1993 when the Mississippi River and Missouri River basins experienced many closely timed, large-scale rainstorms that fell on saturated soils with already swollen rivers, leading to widespread flooding. In this brief report, discussion is limited to the hydrometeorology of extreme precipitation and, more specifically, what might be considered single meteorological events.
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Key Terms

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  • drainage basins
  • operational definition
  • upper limit
  • closely timed
  • dual definition

  • evaluate current
  • rainfalls worldwide
  • precipitation accumulation
  • type arise
  • moisture adjustment

  • complete understanding
  • dramatic events
  • vapor density
  • upper bounds
  • usually located

  • recommends research
  • stronger basis
  • preliminary assessment
  • estimated bounds
  • areal coverages


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