Tag: Flooding

What is an atmospheric river?

What is an atmospheric river? A hydrologist explains the good and bad of these flood-prone storms and how they’re changing

Intersections

Qian Cao, University of California, San Diego (from The Conversation) A series of atmospheric rivers is bringing the threat of heavy downpours, flooding, mudslides and avalanches to the Pacific Northwest and California this week [early 2024]. While these storms are dreaded for the damage they can cause, they are also essential to the region’s water supply, particularly in California, as Qian Cao, a hydrologist at…

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Looking back on America’s summer of heat, floods and climate change: Welcome to the new abnormal

Intersections

Shuang-Ye Wu, University of Dayton (from The Conversation) The summer of 2022 started with a historic flood in Montana, brought on by heavy rain and melting snow, that tore up roads and caused large areas of Yellowstone National Park to be evacuated. It ended with a record-breaking heat wave in California and much of the West that pushed the power grid to the breaking point,…

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Climate change is intensifying the water cycle, bringing more powerful storms and flooding – here’s what the science shows

Intersections

Mathew Barlow, UMass Lowell (from The Conservation) Powerful storm systems triggered flash flooding across the U.S. in late July 2022, killing at least 25 people in eastern Kentucky as floodwater engulfed homes and set off mudslides. Record rainfall also inundated St. Louis neighborhoods, and another deluge in Nevada flooded the Las Vegas strip. The impact of climate change on extreme water-related events like this is…

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Climate change intersections: wildfires and flooding

Featured Article

Wildfires in the western United States are becoming more intense and are burning larger areas. At the same time, heavy, extreme rainfall is becoming more frequent and intense. When these happen in the same area within a short period of time, they “can cause dramatically more damage to communities than one of the events alone.” Research indicates that the combination of extreme wildfires and extreme…

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Extreme weather and a changing climate

Intersections

Is there a connection between extreme weather events (torrential rain, polar cold, heatwaves, extended droughts, hail, hurricanes, tornadoes, and more) and a changing climate? Yes. Are extreme weather events happening more frequently? Yes. Are these extreme weather events having a greater impact–-deaths, economic losses, human migration, loss of plant and animal species and even extinction, worsening human physical and mental health, and more. Yes, again….

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Extreme weather and a changing climate

News

Our climate is changing, and rapidly. The evidence is all around us. One result of our changing climate is the increased frequency of weather and weather-related extremes across the Earth–stifling and dangerous heatwaves, prolonged and profound drought, torrential rain leading to deadly and destructive flooding, inexorable sea level rise, explosive wildfires and then smoke affecting skies, air quality, and health thousands of miles away, lives…

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