Glossary
NOAA Atlas 14
The updated federal rainfall-frequency study that caused several Texas jurisdictions to redraw their regulatory floodplains substantially larger.
NOAA Atlas 14 is a National Weather Service study that revised rainfall-frequency estimates for Texas sharply upward — meaning storms previously treated as rare are now understood to be considerably more likely. Austin adopted the data and in November 2019 amended its code to redefine its regulatory floodplains, temporarily using the former 500-year floodplain as the new 100-year floodplain. The number of structures within Austin's 100-year floodplain rose from roughly 4,000 to roughly 7,200. The practical consequence for a buyer is that a parcel can read clean on a FEMA map and still be regulated as floodplain by the city. Other Central Texas jurisdictions have handled Atlas 14 differently — confirm the local standard for the specific jurisdiction.