HOME    ABOUT  US    CONTACT  US 

• FORENSIC DISCOVERY and EXPERT WITNESS TESTIMONY in depositions and court trials, regarding extreme rainfall, Katrina and other recent hurricanes, the safety of dams, or any other meteorological, hydrometeorological, or hydrologic issues, from heavy rain or strong wind to floods or ground water contamination.

• PROBABLE MAXIMUM PRECIPITATION  (PMP) determinations.

  • Evaluation of existing PMP criteria in light of recent storm events and meteorological studies.

  • Determination of revised PMP for new and existing dams and spillways.

• PROBABLE MAXIMUM FLOOD  (PMF) determinations.

  • Evaluation of existing PMF criteria in light of revised PMP and updated flood routing criteria.

  • Determination of revised PMF for new and existing dams and spillways.

• Storm studies, Part I and Part II. 

  • Part I:  Detailed meteorological isohyetal analyses of major historical storms, including recent storms:

    • Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 2005, in Louisiana and Mississippi, plus other 2005 hurricanes.

    • Hurricanes of 2004 in Florida and northward through the eastern Atlantic states.

    • Other major hurricanes of the past 20 years.

    • Major mid-latitude flood-producing storms, including those of 1993 in the Great Plains.

  • Part II:  Detailed depth-area-duration (DAD) analyses; DAD curves (graphic and digital) from Part I storm isohyets for use in the development of Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) for dam safety considerations and in other reservoir and channel design.

• Other DAD analyses, especially as geared toward determination of PMP criteria.

• Hydrometeorological research and studies, geared toward determination of PMP, as well as other major design storms, such as Standard Project Storm, Capital Storm, etc.

  • General mid-latitude storms.

  • Hurricanes.

  • Extreme local thunderstorms.

    • Air-mass thunderstorms - deserts.

    • Air-mass thunderstorms - humid areas.

    • Heavy thunderstorms embedded in hurricanes.

    • Heavy thunderstorms embedded in mid-latitude general storms, especially along cold fronts.

• Radar rain rate determinations, including NEXRAD interpretation.

• Rainfall frequency determinations:  2 years to 1,000 years, durations from 1 minute to 10 days - updated criteria.

• Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) determinations.

  • Evaluation of existing PMF criteria in light of revised PMP and updated flood routing criteria.

  • Determination of revised PMF for new and existing dams and spillways.

• Spillway design: ability to pass probable maximum flood flow - updated criteria.

• Reservoir design: ability to store probable maximum flood volume, in conjunction with spillway flow - updated criteria.

• Flood-control channel design; ability of channels to handle extreme flood flows.

• Flood frequency analyses: 

  • Peak river levels; annual maximum flow rates.

  • Maximum reservoir levels or storage volume.

  .

                          

• FLOOD-WARNING SYSTEMS.

• Other direct-reading and remote-reading meteorological and hydrologic instrumentation systems.

• Heavy precipitation research, studies, and modeling.

• Hurricane research and studies; hydrometeorological aspects of hurricanes.  Potential effects of possible global warming on hurricane frequencies and paths.

• Burned watershed studies; mud and debris flow studies; modeling; possible effects on PMF through bulking of water volume.

• Design storms for flood control and water resources.

• Desert meteorology; magnitude and frequency of heavy desert thunderstorms.

• Snowfall and snow hydrology research and studies; snow sublimation.

• Snow melt research and studies; rates of snow melt under various meteorological conditions; flood potential of snow melt, contribution of snow melt to PMF (very large or very high altitude watersheds only). 

• Effects of cloud seeding upon water yield - significant if cloud seeding happens to precede an extreme rainfall event.

• Drought duration studies - for purposes of sizing the maximum water-supply storage needed in a reservoir and the available flood-control space for the storage of a PMF event.

• Global warming / cooling; climatic change - natural and man-made; possible effects upon Probable Maximum Precipitation.

• Severe storm and hail research and studies. 

• Climatic studies of normal and extreme precipitation.

• Effects on PMF of mud and debris flows from burned watersheds

  Infiltration rates:  studies of watersheds above reservoirs, especially minimum infiltration rates at times of PMP events.

• Flood plain management studies.

• Flood-control channel and reservoir design and planning.

• Flood preparedness, including spillway flow (other than dam break):  official planning; public awareness and planning.

• Water resources research and studies; stochastic watershed analysis.

• Reservoir water control manuals; hydrologic manuals.

• Drought, water shortages;  drought  preparedness:  official planning; public awareness, water rationing.

• Flood and drought frequency analyses: 

  • Peak river levels; annual maximum or minimum flow rates.

  • Maximum or minimum reservoir levels or storage volume.

• Design storms for dam safety, flood control, and water resources.

• Public awareness programs on water contaminants.

• Quality of public water supply.

• Water conservation programs:  official planning; public awareness, planning, and implementation.

  Surface and ground water quality research.

• Ground water management studies.

• Water intrusion prevention studies: 

  • Surface water flow. 

  • Ground water table. 

  • Underground sea water penetration in coastal communities.

Special photo credits:   Under headline:   Floodwaters across road - National Ocean Service (NOS).     Bottom of page (immediately above):   1. Flood, Missouri River and Mississippi River confluence, Aug 1993 -  U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Srenco Photography, photo #24.    2  Flood, Johnstown, PA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), photo no. 701.    3. Flood, Missouri River, 1993 - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), photo no. 31.    4. Flood, home and yard - NOAA, photo no. 16.    5. Flood:  School house floating down Ohio River, near Wheeling, WV, 1907 - Charles C. Kline, Nicoll's Art Shop (from Wheeling, WV library archives).    6. Flood, bank erosion, and property damage: after the flood crest, Rillito Creek, Tucson, AZ - USGS. 

Web site © 2008 Charles B. Pyke, Ph.D., Senior Hydrometeoroligst and Climatologist, The Hydrometeorology Associates.  All rights reserved.  Website designed by Charles B. Pyke, Business Success Website,  (888) 863-9932.  Site administered and operated by Associated Science Experts, LLC, Charles B. Pyke, Ph.D., Managing Member.