Study: “Once In A Century” Precipitation Events Could Occur Up to Once Every 30 Years by End of Century

Researchers from the Berkeley National Laboratory and UC San Diego have published a study that suggests the number of extreme precipitation days experienced by Americans will continue to increase into the next century, with “once a century” events occurring as often as every 30 or 40 years in the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast.

This significant increases in extreme precipitation comes at the cost of days with light or medium precipitation. During the winter, Southern Canada and most of the United States will see the most significant increases in extreme precipitation days, by 20 to 30 percent for the wettest. Arizona, New Mexico, and Northern Mexico will see their biggest increases in autumn, by 10 to 30 percent. The study’s region-specific breakdowns should be valuable for land and water planners to prepare for these changes. Read more at Berkeley Lab.