Forecast: Drought With Heavy Rainfall

Basically, most areas west of the Mississippi River have some form of drought ongoing as I write this. Some areas are severe, from abnormally dry to extreme drought, with exceptional drought occurring in much of Texas.

Given that, there was again a significant rain event in the Dallas region. With that rainfall, it may make August the wettest month there since 1899.

Here is a quote from a Washington Post article on the Dallas rain event:

“In some isolated cases, the rainfall would qualify as a 1-in-1,000 interval flood. The downpour marked the latest such flood that has occurred over the past few weeks across the United States. In one week alone, three 1-in-1,000-year rain events occurred — inundating St. Louis, eastern Kentucky and southeastern Illinois.

“While controversial, the term is used to describe a rainfall event that is expected once in every 1,000 years, meaning it has just a 0.1 percent chance of happening in any given year.

“Climate change is making our forecasts much more unpredictable. Imagine the farmer farming on un-irrigated land and dependent on rainfall coming at the right time and in the right amounts. It is a tough business.”

Here’s one more long-term forecast: “U.S. flooding losses will spike 26 percent by 2050 due to climate change, researchers say.”

Actually, it seems a bit conservative to me.