Weather Tidbits: Excessive Rainfall Outlook Risk Categories

We’ll be discussing the risk categories of the Excessive Rainfall Outlook in this edition of Weather Tidbits. This product is not explicitly a forecast. Rather, it accounts for uncertainties and summarizes the larger-scale risk factors, and the potential impacts of the flash floods rather than just printing out actual numbers which may not be as useful to the public. It’s set up into four levels. A marginal means isolated flash floods are possible. Localized and primarily affecting areas that can experience rapid runoff from heavy rainfall. A level 2 slight risk means scattered flash floods are possible. It’s still localized, but a few significant flash floods are possible. Mainly for poor drainage areas. For a moderate, numerous flash floods are likely. And there could even be significant flash floods. Many streams may potentially flood into larger rivers. For a high risk, severe widespread flash flooding is expected, and there could be damage to lives and property.