Exposure of the US population to extreme precipitation risk has increased due to climate change

Abstract

The magnitude and frequency of extreme precipitation events in the early twenty-first century have already proven to be increasing at a rate more quickly than previously anticipated. Currently, the biggest consequence of the change in extreme precipitation is the lack of a climate-adjusted national standard taking into account these recent increases that could be used to prevent life and property loss from catastrophic precipitation-driven floods. Here, we address how severe the change in extreme precipitation compares against the current national standard for precipitation climatology (NOAA Atlas 14) and how much of the population is affected by the underestimation of this risk in the contiguous United States (CONUS). As a result, extreme precipitation in the early twenty-first century has outpaced our current national standard in half of CONUS, and the heavy precipitation events experienced recently are quickly becoming a "new normal", which will increase in severity and frequency in a continually changing climate. Over three-quarters of the U.S. population will likely experience this new normal occurrence of extreme precipitation. As much as one-third of the population is expected to experience the current definition of a 1-in-100-year storm as often as three times in their lifetime. Additionally, the current precipitation standards for designing transportation infrastructure and urban stormwater drainage systems that are built upon Atlas 14 may be insufficient to protect the public's safety and personal/community property from severe flooding. Areas where flood risk is mitigated by operating hydraulic and adaptation structures urgently need to assess the impact of the increased-hourly extreme precipitation and reevaluate their applicable operation rules. Understanding and predicting patterns and the likelihood of short-duration heavy precipitation would be beneficial in preparing for severe precipitation-driven disasters, such as flash floods and landslides, which would happen more frequently in a changing climate. Following the results of this analysis, accelerating the development and dissemination of the next generation of the national standard that has been climatically adjusted to adapt to the new normal is strongly recommended.