Cloudbursts and the upper tail of short-duration rainfall: Hortonian perspectives.

For more than a century, observations of cloudbursts have contributed to understanding physical processes producing "the sudden heavy fall of rain" – the American Meteorological Society definition of a cloudburst. Keen observers of cloudbursts include pioneers in the hydrological sciences, notably Robert Horton, G.K. Gilbert, Luna Leopold and John Hack. Horton transformed early 20th century understanding of cloudbursts into a conceptual model of thunderstorms that provided the foundation for his conclusion that "there is a natural limitation to rain intensity for any duration." The notion of bounds on rainfall and flood peaks has been ingrained in the philosophy of engineering design for high-hazard dams. The evolution of ideas linking cloudburst rainfall to the properties of short-duration rainfall extremes is examined in this paper through the lens of Robert Horton's cloudburst research, which provides useful insights to 21st century problems tied to cloudbursts and extreme, short-duration rainfall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]