Technique for estimating magnitude and frequency of floods in natural-flow streams in Florida

A technique is presented for estimating floods on natural-flow streams in Florida for specific recurrence intervals of 2, 5, 10 , 25, 50, 100, 200, and 500 years. Florida peaks from 159 stream-gaging stations with long-term records (10-53 years) and 23 rainfall-runoff stations with short-term records (7-17 years) were used in a multiple linear regression analysis to develop the regional equations relating peak discharge to basin characteristics. The State is divided into 3 hydrologic regions, A, B, and C. The significant independent variables in Regions A and C were drainage area, channel slope, and lake area. In Region B, the significant independent variables were drainage area and lake area. (USGS)