Summary: NOAA Atlas 14 remains NOAA’s current precipitation-frequency standard and authoritative source for the areas it covers, while Atlas 15 will gradually replace it with updated, seamless, nonstationary…
As hydrologic engineers, we would be remiss not to use all information available to us in the course of understanding water flow within a drainage basin. Increasingly, geospatial…
For decades, engineers have relied on a patchwork of data consisting of field surveys, orthographic photos, and other sources to piece together baseline topographic data for infrastructure design…
Summary: NOAA Atlas 14 remains NOAA’s current precipitation-frequency standard and authoritative source for the areas it covers, while Atlas 15 will gradually replace it with updated, seamless, nonstationary estimates nationwide. Preliminary CONUS data are expected in September 2026 for peer review, with CONUS publication in 2027 (estimates outside the contiguous United States…
Read more As hydrologic engineers, we would be remiss not to use all information available to us in the course of understanding water flow within a drainage basin. Increasingly, geospatial data, high-resolution terrain models, and machine learning are available to engineers for a variety of purposes, including the development of hydrologic models. The Wetland…
Read more For decades, engineers have relied on a patchwork of data consisting of field surveys, orthographic photos, and other sources to piece together baseline topographic data for infrastructure design and other purposes. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has long been aware that 3D elevation data for the entire United States would bring…
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As cities grapple with flood preparedness, a strategy known as “stochastic storm transposition” (SST) is increasingly viewed as a tool useful for flood risk assessment. Today, the method is principally used by U.S. federal agencies managing large critical infrastructure. The methodology makes use of high-resolution gridded radar data of recent storm events…
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If only the most alarming trends we are witnessing lately—warming oceans, heat waves in the Arctic and record high temperatures elsewhere—could be credited to normal fluctuations. But the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) makes clear in the latest Global Climate Report (GCR), released in March 2026, that the extreme values of several key…
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Flood frequency analysis (FFA) is a core element of water resource engineering and critical for floodplain management, infrastructure design, risk assessment and more. Over the last 35 years, methodologies to perform FFA have evolved significantly, adapting to changing environmental conditions, new data sources, improved computational capabilities, statistical innovations, and a better understanding…
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With passage of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) in 1972, the U.S. finally had a landmark environmental protection law on the books to protect “navigable waters” or “waters of the United States, including the territorial seas” (WOTUS). But the reach of a federal law depends on its supporting legal framework. In…
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The funding and the work are here, but not the folks to do it Few periods in recent history have so clearly required the talents and skills of engineers and related professionals. Aging infrastructure is in every city and county across the U.S. Lately the call to act and repair this infrastructure…
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If only it wasn’t so obvious. But it is. I’m talking about the companies out there that have the cash flow, the willing investors, the big budgets and the equally big client listings. These companies know how to beat the drums and blow the whistles. They know how to make you sit…
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Climbing aboard the AI high-speed train: Will hydrologists be next? Articles don’t typically have “shelf lives,” but this one certainly does. There’s a definite possibility that twelve months from now, the points made in this post could be completely out of date. Changes are happening fast; ever since AI went mainstream in…
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