Intensity-Duration-Frequency Curves
One of the most challenging parts of the Newfoundland and Labrador climate is dealing with heavy rain events. These events can place a serious strain on communities and, in some cases, drop too much rain for existing infrastructure to cope with.
Climate change presents a new challenge for communities as it's expected to cause an overall increase in the amount of rain expected to fall and the expectation is that these events will be fewer but more intense. These events could be related to hurricanes or tropical storms during the fall of the year, or just powerful seasonal storms that could occur any time.
There is an accepted engineering tool called "Intensity-Duration-Frequency" (IDF) curves that can help communities design their infrastructure to the expected rain events in the future. IDF curves are developed from historical information, or in some case forward-looking climate models, to predict future rain events. A visual guide on interpreting an IDF curve is provided below.
