This web page provides access and information to the time series (annual maximum and partial duration) used in precipitation frequency analysis in NOAA Atlas 14.
The annual maximum series (AMS) for a station is constructed by extracting the highest precipitation amount for a particular duration in each successive year of record.
Volumes 1 through 3 use calendar year, and Volumes 4 and above use water year (October - September).
The partial duration series (PDS) is a listing of the N (period of record) greatest observed precipitation depths for a given duration at a station, regardless of how many occurred in the same year.
Starting with NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 4, only annual maximum series are available; PDS-based frequency estimates were derived from AMS data.
Starting with NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 6, durations less than one hour are available.
For more information about AMS and PDS data and their use in precipitation frequency analysis, please visit the corresponding NOAA Atlas 14 document.
Also of interest is the time series trend analysis, see Appendix A.3 of the corresponding NOAA Atlas 14 document.