History of Rainfall Studies Applicable to Texas

November 12, 2020
Melinda Luna PE, ASCE Texas History & Heritage Committee Chair
In the United States, there have been several rainfall intensities studies. The first study was Rainfall and Runoff in the Miami Valley by Ivan E Houck published in 1921 but the work was done after the 1913 flood. This was also part of a larger publication, the Technical Reports: The Miami Valley and the 1913 Flood by A.E. Morgan published in 1917. Since then there have been a series of studies to attempt to create one map that seamlessly covers the United States. The most recent effort has been with Atlas 14 published starting in 2004 releasing sections of the United States. Most recently, the release of the State of Texas in late September of 2018. Since then, different parts of the United States have been released in separate volumes, with five states left to complete the United States “map”.
Publish Date | Title & Author | Source |
---|---|---|
< 1900s | Engineers used what they knew and used history of rainfall in the area. | None |
1917/ 1921 | The Miami Valley and the 1913 Flood by A.E. Morgan | Rainfall & Runoff in the Miami Valley |
1935 | Rainfall Intensity-Frequency Data Miscellaneous Publication 2014 by David L. Yarnell | USDA Misc Pub |
1953 | Rainfall Intensity for Local Drainage Design by US Weather Bureau | NWS NOAA, Technical Paper 24 |
1955 | Rainfall Intensity-Duration-Frequency Curves by US Weather Bureau | NWS, Technical Paper 25 |
1961 | Rainfall Frequency Atlas of the United States by David M Hershfield | NWS NOAA, Technical Paper 40 |
1977 | Depth-Area Ratios in the Semi-Arid Southwest United States by Raymond M. Zehr & Vance A. Myers, Office of Hydrology Series | NWS NOAA, Technical Memorandum Hydro-35 |
1998 | Depth-Duration Frequency of Precipitation for Texas by William H. Asquith, US Geology Survey | USGS / TxDOT, WRIR 98-4004 |
2004 | Atlas of Depth Duration Frequency of Precipitation Annual Maxima for Texas by William H. Asquith & Meghan C. Roussel, US Geological Survey | USGS/TxDOT, SIR 2004-5041 |
2018 | Atlas 14 by Precipitation Frequency Data Server (PFDS) | Hydrometeorological Design Studies Center |

The first states to implement a new rainfall Atlas 14 included Southwest Arizona, Southeast California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. This was followed by Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. In the 15 years since original release, most have had at least one report update, as implementation of new rainfall is no longer difficult. Most have adopted the new rainfall as this over comes some of the short falls of the earlier studies.
As more data is gathered, designers should be aware that the rainfall intensities will change.
- TxDOT adopted Atlas 14 as of November 29, 2018.
- NOAA updates Texas rainfall frequency values
- City of Austin documented potential changes to Central Texas here.
- NOAA Atlas 14 Point Precipitation Frequency Estimates
Photos Source: NOAA; News & Features; https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/noaa-updates-texas-rainfall-frequency-values; accessed 12 November 2020
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