Flood resilience
Design Guidance & Supporting Tools
NOAA Atlas 15
Although currently in development, NOAA’s Atlas 15 is expected to serve as the new authoritative source for precipitation frequency estimates. Atlas 15 will cover the entire United States and will account for future temporal trends through year 2100. Atlas 15 will consist of two volumes: Volume 1 will provide current precipitation frequency estimates that account for temporal changes in historical observations, and Volume 2 will provide model-based precipitation frequency estimates projected into the future. Atlas 15 is expected to be released in 2026.
- MnDNR Local Governmental Unit Forum webinar on NOAA Atlas 15: NOAA Atlas 15: National Precipitation Frequency Standard Update
Hydraulic Risk Assessment
The Risk Assessment Form has been developed by MnDOT to document the considerations given to flood risk including backwater damage potential, traffic related losses, and roadway and/or structure repair costs for bridges and culverts. The Risk Assessment Form is available as Appendix A of the MnDOT Drainage Manual.
University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership Climate Modeling Primer
The University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership has prepared a document, “Climate modeling: an introductory primer for practitioners,” which provides an introduction to climate models and their function.
Flood-related research
- Peak streamflow trends and their relation to changes in climate in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin
- Climate Change Adaptation of Urban Stormwater Infrastructure
MnDOT Bridge Scour Resources
Bridge scour resources, including scour code definitions, scour evaluation procedures, and scour plan of action templates are available on the MnDOT Bridge Scour website.
These resources will be available soon:
- Flood Resilience Guidance Document
- Check Storm Examples
- Check Storm Assessment
- Flood Risk Assessment Tool & User Guide
- MnDOT Flood Event Database
Flood Resilience Featured Projects
A statewide flood mitigation program was established in fall 2010 to fund flood mitigation projects for state highways. This program funded more than 30 projects that improved the flood resilience of state highways. A list of projects funded by this program is available at Mitigation Projects - Statewide Flood Mitigation Program - MnDOT.