"Extreme Rain Is a Growing Climate Threat to the Northeastern US"

"Heavy precipitation is on the rise in New York, Connecticut and neighboring states, increasing the likelihood of damaging flash floods."

"As high temperatures break records around the US and wildfires rip through the West, another climate-driven weather hazard — extreme rainfall — is pummeling the country’s Northeast and scientists say it will get worse as the climate changes. That will bring more rain-induced flooding to a region of millions that isn’t prepared.

The latest example played out on Aug. 18, when a slow-moving storm system approached Northeastern states from the Great Lakes. A patch of low pressure high above Connecticut and New York drew all that wet air upwards, creating perfect conditions for rain. Remnants of Hurricane Ernesto also arrived, slowing down the movement of air masses across the region into a kind of “traffic jam,” according to AccuWeather Inc.

“The situation itself wasn’t all that unusual,” said Tom Kines, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. “It just happened to be the kind of the worst-case scenario where you get heavy thunderstorms over one area for an extended period of time.”"

Eric Roston reports for Bloomberg Green August 27, 2024, with Kendra Pierre-Louis and Brian K Sullivan.

Source: Bloomberg Green, 08/28/2024