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M.J. Burr

Publications and source records attributed to M.J. Burr.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Precipitation in the Northern Plains, September 1996 through April 1997

Above-normal snowfall throughout the winter of 1996-97, combined with excessive precipitation during the fall of 1996 and additional moisture from a spring blizzard on April 5-6, 1997, caused the worst flooding in more than 100 years in several areas in central and eastern North Dakota, western Minnesota, and central eastern South Dakota. Many of the monthly precipitation totals for September 1996 through April 1997 were more than 200 percent of monthly normals at selected weather stations.

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Peak discharges and flow volumes for streams in the Northern Plains, 1996-97

Winter snowfall of 1996-97, combined with the spring floods of 1997, caused one of the worst natural disasters in recent history on the Northern Plains. The flow volumes for water year 1997 at selected streamflow-gaging stations on the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and the James River were 186 to 788 percent of the mean annual volumes for the periods of record for those stations. Recurrence intervals ranged from 10 to 500 years.

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Peak-flow frequency estimates through 1994 for gaged streams in South Dakota

Annual peak-flow data are listed for 250 continuous-record and crest-stage gaging stations in South Dakota. Peak-flow frequency estimates for selected recurrence intervals ranging from 2 to 500 years are given for 234 of these 250 stations. The log-Pearson Type III procedure was used to compute the frequency relations for the 234 stations, which in 1994 included 105 active and 129 inactive stations. The log-Pearson Type III procedure is recommended by the Hydrology Subcommittee of the Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data, 1982, "Guidelines for Determining Flood Flow Frequency."No peak-flow frequency estimates are given for 16 of the 250 stations because: (1) of extreme variability in data set; (2) more than 20 percent of years had no flow; (3) annual peak flows represent large outflow from a spring; (4) of insufficient peak-flow record subsequent to reservoir regulation; and (5) peak-flow records were combined with records from nearby stations.

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