Snow-influenced floods are more strongly connected in space than purely rainfall-driven floods

Abstract

Abstract Widespread floods that affect several catchments are associated with large damages and costs. To improve flood protection, a better understanding of the driving processes of such events is needed. Here, we assess how spatial flood connectedness varies with the flood generation process using a flood event classification scheme that distinguishes between rainfall-driven and snowmelt-influenced flood types. Our results show that the dominant flood generation processes in Europe vary by region, season, and event severity. Specifically, we show that severe floods are more often associated with snow-related processes than moderate events. In addition, we find that snow-influenced events show stronger spatial connections than rainfall-driven events. The spatial connectedness of rainfall-driven events depends on the rainfall duration, and the connectedness decreases with increasing duration. These findings have potential implications for flood risk in a warming climate, both locally and regionally. The projected decrease in the frequency of occurrence of snowmelt-influenced floods may translate into a decrease in the frequency of severe and widespread floods in catchments where snowmelt processes are important for flood generation.