'Long-term Flood Climatology in the Mid-Atlantic Region: An Analysis Using River Gage Data (1920-2020)'

In recent years, it has become crucial to understand historical flood patterns as it aids in planning activities and providing context for communicating flood risk. This study investigates flood climatology in the Mid-Atlantic region over two periods of time, all with the goal of better prediction and disaster preparedness for local communities. The first portion of this project analyzes data from river gages from 1920-2020 in order to identify long-term trends and patterns for flooding in the region. These data have been collected at the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center (MARFC) from the USGS and other sources. The second portion aims to examine the flood frequency patterns from a subset of gages on smaller rivers where a weather forecast office (WFO) has flood stages defined but does not have official river forecast points. The findings provided valuable insight on flood patterns, both magnitude and frequency, that have increased over the last 100 years in the region. The work also augmented the MARFC flood climatology database, building a better foundation for analyzing climate change and flood risk in the Mid-Atlantic region.