Precipitation and runoff on eight New England basins during extreme wet and dry periods

Abstract

ABSTRACT Precipitation and runoff data from the Sleepers River Watershed in northeastern Vermont are presented and discussed with emphasis given to extreme wet and dry period relationships. The significance of these extreme periods is determined by comparison with an 87-year precipitation record 2 km from the basin. Precipitation and runoff increased with elevation for both wet and dry periods. The rate of increase was greater during a wet period than during a dry period for all seasons. Variations in measured flow at the eight sub-basins examined were due to the complex basin and climatological conditions typical of New England basins. However, the variations may be adequately described using elevation alone as the index. The increase in summer precipitation with elevation was significantly greater than the increase in runoff. This suggests that evapotranspiration increases with elevation. The greater magnitude of precipitation at higher elevations results in more potential and thus more actual evapotran...