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.

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.

In May 2024, this tool’s data and functionality were incorporated into a larger and more comprehensive tool, the Arctic Environmental and Engineering Data and Design Support System (Arctic-EDS). Use Arctic-EDS to query historical, current and projected environmental data — including precipitation — for engineering applications. Download data or use included computational notebooks for analysis.

• Find precipitation data on Arctic-EDS
• Watch the AK DOT technical webinar recording
• Read the Final Report

For questions about this project and its outputs, please contact the SNAP Data Tools team.