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.
Mill Pond Dam in Stony Brook, New York, suffered flood damage on Aug. 20.
Photographer: James Carbone/Newsday RM/Getty ImagesAs 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.