Historical Extreme Precipitation Events: NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory

This webpage shows synoptic conditions, precipitation development, and recurrence intervals associated with extreme precipitation events. It was created as a part of the NOAA Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) Estimation Modernization project.

Select a region and an event from the dropdown menus below, then choose a variable.

Cases were selected based on whether they exceeded the 1000 y Annual Recurrence Interval (ARI) over a combined area that exceeded 200 km2 or the events that had significant impacts such as property damage in the millions of dollars (US). Please note: Additional cases will be added over time.

Resources

News

02/2026: Learning from the past: NOAA team unveils interactive library of extreme precipitation event data (PSL News)

About the events

1996-2024

1996-12-25: California New Years Flood
1999-10-14: Hurricane Floyd
2010-05-01: Tennessee Floods
2011-08-26: Hurricane Irene
2013-09-10: Front Range CO Floods
2014-06-14: Big Sioux River Floods
2014-06-17: Eastern MT and Western SD Flood
2014-08-12: Long Island Flood:
2015-10-02: South Carolina Flood:
2015-10-21: Texas Floods
2016-06-23: Southern West Virginia Floods
2016-07-29: Ellicot City, Maryland Flash Flood No. 1
2016-08-11: Northern Louisiana Floods
2016-10-07: Hurricane Matthew
2017-01-07: California, Nevada, Idaho AR Event
2017-02-06: Oroville Dam Near Failure - California
2017-04-28: Southern Missouri, Ozark Flooding
2017-06-28: Northern Missouri Flash Flood
2017-08-25: Hurricane Harvey - Texas
2018-06-15: Northern Wisconsin, UP Michigan Heavy Rain
2018-06-30: Des Moines, Iowa Urban Flash Flood
2018-07-02: Southwestern Minnesota Flash Flood
2018-08-20: Dane County, Wisconsin Flash Flood
2018-08-26: Southern Wisconsin Floods
2019-07-14: Tropical Storm Barry
2019-09-10: South Dakota to Wisconsin Floods
2019-09-27: I-80 Illinois Flooding
2021-07-22: Arizona and New Mexico Heavy Rainfall
2021-08-29: Hurricane Ida - Louisiana
2021-08-31: Hurricane Ida - NY
2021-10-21: California and Nevada Atmospheric River Event
2022-07-25: St. Louis, Missouri Flash Flood
2022-07-26: Eastern Kentucky Floods
2023-08-19: Tropical Storm Hilary Flood
2024-06-20: South Dakota, lowa, Minnesota Floods
2024-07-13: Rockford, Illinois Flash Flood
2024-08-17: Long Island and Connecticut Flash Flood
2024-09-24: Hurricane Helene - Southeast
2024-11-03: Arkansas and Missouri Heavy Rainfall
2024-11-19: California Atmospheric River Event

Credit

Support for this webpage comes from the University of Colorado, Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), Colorado State University’s Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CSU/CIRA), and NOAA’s Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL) and Global Systems Laboratory (GSL).

Citation

If you use these figures in a publication, please check here for how to cite.

Feedback

We welcome your feedback related to this page. For questions, comments, or suggestions about the plots, methods, and overall initiative, email psl.precipevents@noaa.gov. For webpage issues, email webmaster.psl@noaa.gov.