Resilience to extreme rainfall starts with science

Abstract

Intensification of extreme rainfall due to climate change means that federally published rainfall metrics such as the "100-yr storm"are outdated throughout much of the United States. Given their central role in a wide range of infrastructure designs and risk management decisions, updating these metrics to reflect recent and future changes is essential to protect communities. There have been considerable advances in recent years in data collection, statistical methods, and climate modeling that can now be brought to bear on the problem. Scientists must take a lead in this updating process, which should be open, inclusive, and leverage recent scientific advances.