The state of Kerala in the southwestern corner of the Indian peninsula is climatically unique in many respects because of the impact of the Western Ghat Mountains. This results in a wide range of climates and the associated marked gradient in the annual total of rainfall which ranges from ~6000 mm at the crest of Western Ghat, to as low as 600 mm in the valley portion. Such a gradient in annual total rainfall is also associated with a wide range of rainfall intensities during storms which can result
in extreme flood-producing events that severely affect human society. The study analyses the annual series of precipitation maxima which have been observed within a dense raingauge network covering entire Western Ghat part of Kerala.