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Flood trends

Not higher but more often

Heavy precipitation has increased worldwide, but the effect of this on flood magnitude has been difficult to pinpoint. An alternative approach to analysing records shows that, in the central United States, floods have become more frequent but not larger.

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Figure 1: Time series from one site in the central United States showing high streamflow events.

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Correspondence to Robert M. Hirsch.

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Hirsch, R., Archfield, S. Not higher but more often. Nature Clim Change 5, 198–199 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2551

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