United States: after the drought, the American West faces a risk of exceptional floods – franceinfo

A “period of significant precipitation” could affect the states of Arizona and New Mexico, causing exceptional floods, especially in areas ravaged by fires. Article written by Published on 08/20/2022 09:18 Updated on 08/20/2022 10:29 Reading time: 1 min. Part of the American West, already severely affected by a historic drought, was placed on exceptional flood alert with nearly 15 centimeters of precipitation expected in places, according to the meteorological services, Friday August 19. A “period of significant rainfall” could affect the states of Arizona and New Mexico, causing exceptional flooding, especially in areas ravaged by fires, said the National Weather Service (NWS). In particular, heavy rain is expected “in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico today. [vendredi] and Saturday,” the same source said. The western United States is experiencing its 23rd year of drought and these cycles are being exacerbated by human-induced climate change. The risk of heavy rainfall events increases with the rise in temperature. But sudden rainfall doesn’t necessarily help. “If the water falls hard in a very short time, it flows,” says meteorologist Chris Rasmussen, of the NWS in Tucson, Arizona “She doesn’t have time to be really absorbed by the ground as we would like to see it”, she specifies Share: Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share by email Share the link