The manuscript has received two sets of reviews during the open discussion phase. Both reviews were positive, noting the high quality of the research and the potential high impact of this study's findings. The reviewers did however have several comments related to an expansion of the discussion, which the authors show in their responses and proposed revisions will be addressed in a revised manuscript.

At this point, I now direct the authors to make the requested changes to the manuscript. Given the good condition of the manuscript, the generally positive review comments, and the authors' responses, I believe that the manuscript will require further review only by the Editor (and not additional reviewes) before a final decision can be made.

The authors have done a good job in revising the manuscript based on the reviewer comments. However, after going through the revised manuscript and the replies to the reviewer comments, I find that there are still a few minor revisions needed before the manuscript can be accepted. After these changes are made, I look forward to final acceptance.

- In the new Section 2.1, I think that it is worth adding a sentence about the record lengths of the 605 basins to address comment #6 of Reviewer 1.

- In Section 2.2, spell out the various models and their abbreviation for the Section headings. For example, the section heading for VIC should read: "Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC)".

- Please ensure that the manuscript complies with HESS manuscript guidelines found here:
https://www.hydrology-and-earth-system-sciences.net/for_authors/manuscript_preparation.html

For example, the figures should be stand-alone, meaning that any abbreviated words should be spelled out in the caption. Also, when possible, variables should be named with a subscript. In Equation 1 and the text, this would mean that the Kling-Gupta Efficiency should be abbreviated to comply with the HESS guidelines.

- The use of North West or North East (for example on p. 19, lines 4 and 15) are awkward. I would revise to read "northwest United States" and northeast United States". The current reading makes these terms seem like an absolute direction, as in the "North Pole".

Thank you for making the requested changes and ensuring the paper conforms to HESS guidelines. The paper is now accepted as is.