Historic, Widespread Flooding Will Continue Through May, NOAA Says (cnn.com)

The U.S. is likely to see "historic, widespread flooding" through May, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's spring outlook. From a report: "This is shaping up to be a potentially unprecedented flood season, with more than 200 million people at risk for flooding in their communities," said Ed Clark, director of NOAA's National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. NOAA's outlook calls for nearly two-thirds of the lower 48 states to face an elevated risk of flooding through May, with the potential for major to moderate flooding in 25 states across the Great Plains, Midwest and down through the Mississippi River valley.

"The flooding this year could be worse than what we have seen in previous years ... even worse than the historic floods we saw in 1993 and 2011," said Mary Erickson, deputy director of the National Weather Service. The warning comes amid record flooding triggered by a sudden warm-up and heavy rains earlier this month brought on by the "bomb cyclone." Combined with rapid snowmelt, the factors in recent weeks have put many places in the Great Plains and Midwest underwater.

Comments

Easy Puzzle with Scientific Thinking

[Jzanu]

Flooding due to early snow melting (when other water occupies the drainage basins). Higher temperatures sooner in the year causing earlier melting. What drives higher temperatures in abnormal patterns compared to records? What drives new and old water into areas different than previously used as drainage?

These events are occurring because global warming and increased human development press on the environment at the same time. Both pressures are at fault, and have a common cause as both are driven by faster development than is supportable in the ecosystem.