Pacific Storms Climatology Products (PSCP): Understanding Extreme Events

xtreme events: the floods that displace us from our homes, the high waves that wash out coastal roads, or the toppling of trees and power poles from a passing storm. For locations around the Pacific Basin, where remote island chains sit perilously close to sea level and where rainfall is the primary source of water, questions arise concerning the return frequency and duration of such events, and whether or not they are getting more extreme. Understanding the long-term variability and change in coastal climate extremes has grown in public awareness given the potentially severe impacts related to sea-level rise coupled with coastal storms. To reduce vulnerability to the economic, social, and environmental risks associated with these phenomena, decision makers in coastal communities need timely access to accurate and contextually relevant information that affords them an opportunity to plan and respond accordingly.