Precipitation Projections for Alaska Infrastructure

SNAP collaborated with the Alaska Department of Transportation (AK DOT) to develop a point-precipitation frequency tool using state-of-the-art climate projections to better understand the future of precipitation trends across Alaska. This work is critical to maintaining transportation infrastructure across the state, and in designing new projects to be resilient to a changing climate.

The project utilized two downscaling methods: we statistically-downscaled a dynamically-downscaled dataset to more accurately represent high temporal resolution data at the local scale. Find more information on downscaling on the SNAP methods page.

What users can do with this tool

Users can choose the data to display, either spatially or with a specific latitude and longitude. Data may be exported in a conventional GIS-friendly format (such as NetCDF), with appropriate metadata.

Problems addressed by this work

Precipitation trends are changing across Alaska as a result of our changing environment, and those shifts have a significant impact on Alaska’s infrastructure. Accurate projections of the severity and frequency of extreme precipitation events are necessary to design our roads and bridges to stand the test of time without driving up costs. This work brings methods for engineering and design in line in compliance with Federal Highway Administration recommendations, increases cost efficiency, and reduces long-term risk of structural failure.

Go to the Precipitation Projections tool

Watch the AK DOT technical webinar recording

Read the Final Report