Accounting for Tropical Cyclones in Extreme Rainfall Distributions in Florida

This study investigates the contribution of tropical cyclones to the statistics of extreme rainfall events in Florida for durations ranging between 15 min and 7 days. It is shown that, at most rain-gauge locations, the probability distribution of annual maximum rainfall amounts associated with tropical cyclones is significantly different from the probability distribution of annual maximum rainfall amounts not associated with tropical cyclones. Typically, the probability distribution of the annual maximum rainfall can be better described by a mixed probability distribution rather than by the conventional lumped distribution, leading to differences in the estimated rainfall amounts associated with given return periods. The results presented in this paper indicate that more accurate intensity-duration-frequency functions could be obtained by separately accounting for rainfall associated with tropical cyclones.