Abstract: For the first 60 yr of the 20th Century, the U.S. policy regarding floods was aimed at flood control. In the past 15 yr, policy has shifted to a goal of flood hazard mitigation. However, flood losses continue to rise and ...

Abstract: Public policies in the Great Lakes have traditionally developed in an ad hoc manner as specific issues occurred. Recently, the transboundary pollution problems have caused this historical approach to become inadequate. Key ...

Abstract: The frequency distributions and record heaviest snowfalls from snowstorms across the nation are defined. Data for 1948–2001 from 204 first-order weather stations identified major snowstorms in the United States, and these ...

Abstract: Insurance data for tornado damages during 1949–2006 revealed 793 tornado events that each caused >$1 million in losses. The average annual loss of these tornado catastrophes is $982 million, an amount that greatly exceeds ...

Abstract: Historical data on weather extremes and their effects on the nation's economy since the 1940s were assessed to develop annual measures of nationwide losses and to assess their temporal behavior. Trends were upward for ...

Abstract: Historical records of warm- and cold-season floods and associated heavy-precipitation events during 1921–1985 in the Midwest were examined for temporal fluctuations and trends. Floods in basins in the northern Midwest ...

Abstract: In March 2000, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued forecasts of spring and summer droughts for five Midwestern states. Summer brought heavy rains across the Midwest, ending the drought and revealing ...