Using high‐resolution satellite precipitation for flood frequency analysis: case study over the Connecticut River Basin

Abstract

This study evaluates the feasibility of using satellite precipitation datasets in flood frequency analysis based on the accuracy of different return period flows derived using a hydrological model driven with satellite and ground‐based reference rainfall fields over the Connecticut River Basin. Four quasi‐global satellite products (TRMM‐3B42V7, TRMM‐3B42RT, CMORPH, and PERSIANN) at 3‐h/0.25° resolution and the National Weather Service (Stage IV) gauge‐adjusted radar rainfall dataset (representing the reference rainfall) are integrated in this study, with the Coupled Routing and Excess Storage distributed hydrological model to simulate annual peak flows during warm season (May–November) months. The log‐Pearson type III frequency distribution applied to an 11‐year record of annual peak flow data is used to derive different return period flows. Evaluation against the Stage IV‐driven simulations shows that the TRMM‐3B42V7 product has the highest correlation and lowest bias in terms of the derived annual maxima flows compared to the other satellite products. In terms of the different return period flood frequency curves, the various satellite product‐based results well‐represent the variability across the different basins depicted in the reference precipitation‐driven simulations. With the increasing record length of high‐resolution satellite products, results from this paper can motivate future studies over basins lacking adequate ground‐based records to support flood frequency analyses.