To improve flood-frequency estimates at rural streams in Mississippi, annual exceedance probability (AEP) flows at gaged streams in Mississippi and regional-regression equations, used to estimate annual exceedance probability flows for ungaged streams in Mississippi, were developed by using current geospatial data, additional statistical methods, and annual peak-flow data through the 2013 water year. The regional-regression equations were derived from statistical analyses of peak-flow data, basin characteristics associated with 281 streamgages, the generalized skew from Bulletin 17B (Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data, 1982), and a newly developed study-specific skew for select four-digit hydrologic unit code (HUC4) watersheds in Mississippi. Four flood regions were identified based on residuals from the regional-regression analyses. No analysis was conducted for streams in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain flood region because of a lack of long-term streamflow data and poorly defined basin characteristics. Flood regions containing sites with similar basin and climatic characteristics yielded better regional-regression equations with lower error percentages. The generalized least squares method was used to develop the final regression models for each flood region for annual exceedance probability flows. The peak-flow statistics were estimated by fitting a log-Pearson type III distribution to records of annual peak flows and then applying two additional statistical methods: (1) the expected moments algorithm to help describe uncertainty in annual peak flows and to better represent missing and historical record; and (2) the generalized multiple Grubbs-Beck test to screen out potentially influential low outliers and to better fit the upper end of the peak-flow distribution. Standard errors of prediction of the generalized least-squares models ranged from 28 to 46 percent. Pseudo coefficients of determination of the models ranged from 91 to 96 percent. Flood Region C, located in the southwest corner of Mississippi, contained 120 streamgages with drainage areas that ranged from 0.05 to 1,010 square miles. The 1% annual exceedance probability had a standard error of prediction of 41 percent.

To improve flood-frequency estimates at rural streams in Mississippi, annual exceedance probability (AEP) flows at gaged streams in Mississippi and regional-regression equations, used to estimate annual exceedance probability flows for ungaged streams in Mississippi, were developed by using current geospatial data, additional statistical methods, and annual peak-flow data through the 2013 water year. The regional-regression equations were derived from statistical analyses of peak-flow data, basin characteristics associated with 281 streamgages, the generalized skew from Bulletin 17B (Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data, 1982), and a newly developed study-specific skew for select four-digit hydrologic unit code (HUC4) watersheds in Mississippi. Four flood regions were identified based on residuals from the regional-regression analyses. No analysis was conducted for streams in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain flood region because of a lack of long-term streamflow data and poorly defined basin characteristics. Flood regions containing sites with similar basin and climatic characteristics yielded better regional-regression equations with lower error percentages. The generalized least squares method was used to develop the final regression models for each flood region for annual exceedance probability flows. The peak-flow statistics were estimated by fitting a log-Pearson type III distribution to records of annual peak flows and then applying two additional statistical methods: (1) the expected moments algorithm to help describe uncertainty in annual peak flows and to better represent missing and historical record; and (2) the generalized multiple Grubbs-Beck test to screen out potentially influential low outliers and to better fit the upper end of the peak-flow distribution. Standard errors of prediction of the generalized least-squares models ranged from 28 to 46 percent. Pseudo coefficients of determination of the models ranged from 91 to 96 percent. Flood Region A, located in north-central Mississippi, contained 27 streamgages with drainage areas that ranged from 1.41 to 612 square miles. The 1% annual exceedance probability had a standard error of prediction of 31 percent which was lower than the prediction errors in Flood Regions B and C.

To improve flood-frequency estimates at rural streams in Mississippi, annual exceedance probability (AEP) flows at gaged streams in Mississippi and regional-regression equations, used to estimate annual exceedance probability flows for ungaged streams in Mississippi, were developed by using current geospatial data, additional statistical methods, and annual peak-flow data through the 2013 water year. The regional-regression equations were derived from statistical analyses of peak-flow data, basin characteristics associated with 281 streamgages, the generalized skew from Bulletin 17B (Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data, 1982), and a newly developed study-specific skew for select four-digit hydrologic unit code (HUC4) watersheds in Mississippi. Four flood regions were identified based on residuals from the regional-regression analyses. No analysis was conducted for streams in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain flood region because of a lack of long-term streamflow data and poorly defined basin characteristics. Flood regions containing sites with similar basin and climatic characteristics yielded better regional-regression equations with lower error percentages. The generalized least squares method was used to develop the final regression models for each flood region for annual exceedance probability flows. The peak-flow statistics were estimated by fitting a log-Pearson type III distribution to records of annual peak flows and then applying two additional statistical methods: (1) the expected moments algorithm to help describe uncertainty in annual peak flows and to better represent missing and historical record; and (2) the generalized multiple Grubbs-Beck test to screen out potentially influential low outliers and to better fit the upper end of the peak-flow distribution. Standard errors of prediction of the generalized least-squares models ranged from 28 to 46 percent. Pseudo coefficients of determination of the models ranged from 91 to 96 percent.The Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) Flood Region is characterized by low slopes, backwater conditions, interconnecting drainage ditches, levees, indeterminate drainage boundaries, and other factors that make calculations of flood frequency uncertain. In addition, there is a lack of sufficient long-term streamflow record in the MAP; thus, flood-frequency calculations were not produced for this region.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the New Mexico Department of Transportation, estimated the magnitude and frequency of floods corresponding to the 50-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs; otherwise known as the 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500-year floods, respectively) for 346 selected streamgages in New Mexico and parts of Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah using data through water year 2020. An updated regional flood skew, -0.145, standard error 0.454, was computed for the study area. Regression equations were developed which can be used to estimate the magnitude and frequency of floods at ungaged locations on unregulated streams in the study area. The methods and results of the study are published in the parent report (Bell and others, 2022, https://doi.org/10.5066/XXXXXXXX). For the 346 selected streamgages, this dataset includes peak-flow (*.pkf) and specification (*.psf), output (*.PRT), and export (*.EXP) files from version 7.3 of USGS PeakFQ software (Veilleux and others, 2014; Flynn and others, 2006). Within PeakFQ software, the Expected Moments Algorithm (EMA) was used to conduct frequency analyses to estimate stream discharges corresponding to the 0.5, 0.2, 0.1, 0.04, 0.02, 0.01, 0.005, and 0.002 AEPs. When appropriate, the updated regional skew was used to weight the at-site skew in the frequency analyses. Results of the frequency analyses were used in generalized least-squares (GLS) regression to generate equations that predict discharges corresponding to selected AEPs at ungaged locations on streams in the study area (Bell and others, 2022).

Flood region boundary for region 3.