Warming U.S. Could See Extreme Rains Increase Fivefold
Source: Climate Central
December 5th, 2016
By Andrea Thompson
When the skies open up and deluge an area, the results can be catastrophic, with roads washed out and homes destroyed by the resulting flash floods. Such extreme downpours are already occurring more often across the U.S., but a new study finds that as global temperatures rise, storms could dump considerably more rain and skyrocket in frequency.
A car lies submerged in the Tall Timbers subdivision after flooding near Shreveport, La., on March 9, 2016, caused by torrential rains
The study, detailed Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, suggests that storms that now occur about once a season now could happen five times a season by centurys end, a 400 percent increase.
And when such storms do occur, they could produce up to 70 percent more rain. That means that an intense thunderstorm that would today drop about 2 inches of rain would drop 3.5 inches in the future.
Such massive amounts of rain occurring more often could put significant strain on infrastructure that already struggles to deal with heavy rainfall, as seen across the country this year in places from Louisiana to West Virginia.
Read more: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/us-could-see-increase-in-extreme-rains-20935
And it can't be prayed away.
rickford66
(5,521 posts)Sunlei
(22,651 posts)DK504
(3,847 posts)to make rain collection an important program, nor will the gubmint do a damn thing to divert those millions of gallons to drought areas around the country.
We are killing ourselves with our apathy and ignorance.
Kablooie
(18,605 posts)Can't we just build fans that blow the clouds to the west?
bucolic_frolic
(43,027 posts)Insurance is only going to cover all this for awhile, and there will be
premium increases
Natural resources can only replace everything so many times
beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)The cost is hitting in coastal areas now....for those denying climate change....hard to ignore skyrocketing insurance cost
pansypoo53219
(20,952 posts)TexasBushwhacker
(20,131 posts)Torrential rains and flat topography are a bad combo. Even if we had enough drainage, the water just can't move fast enough because there's no "downhill".
More drainage helps, but that costs tax dollars which people don't want to pay.
C Moon
(12,208 posts)well, they didn't link it to global warming, but they did mention that extreme downpours are going to become more the norm in coming yearsthat's a start, anyway.
ancianita
(35,926 posts)systems are gaining traction in California. Australia has a cistern system.
This country could do better to convert some pipeline building to waterline building, and oil trucking to water trucking. If water access and distribution weren't so privatized. Lookin' at you, Nestle.
If states would quit giving tax subsidies to globalists, they could afford to invest in water catchment and preservation systems, which could lower other production costs.
Hekate
(90,530 posts)GReedDiamond
(5,310 posts)...that's what ARCS are for! Praise Jeebus!!