Urban floods intensifying, countryside drying up

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/urban-floods-intensifying-countryside-drying

Urban floods intensifying, countryside drying up

15 Aug 2017 | Wilson da Silva

…

The study by engineers at UNSW, which appears in the latest issue of the journal Nature Scientific Reports, explored how rising local temperatures due to climate change might be affecting river flows. It reviewed data collected from more than 43,000 rainfall stations and 5,300 river monitoring sites across 160 countries.

As expected, it found warmer temperatures lead to more intense storms: a warming atmosphere means warmer air, and warmer air can store more moisture. So when the rains do come, there is a lot more water in the air to fall, and rainfall is more intense.

But there has been a growing puzzle: why is flooding not increasing at the same rate as the higher rainfall?

The answer turned out to be the other facet of rising temperatures: more evaporation from moist soils – which are needed in rural areas to sustain vegetation and livestock – is causing them to become drier before any new rain occurs. Meanwhile, in small catchments and urban areas where there are limited expanses of soil to capture and retain moisture, the intense downpours become equally intense floods, overwhelming stormwater infrastructure and disrupting life.

…

[Hortensis]

1. Poor Australia and NZ, canaries in the coal mine of global warming,

and too many are refusing the enormously valuable gift of their lesson.

"More evaporation from moist soils...causing them to become drier." Wonderful.

Reminds me of camping in the desert too close to date orchards and the Salton Sea one summer night. We tossed and turned for hours in an intense humidity we were complete strangers to, finally decided it must be close to dawn and we'd get up, then discovered it wasn't even midnight yet. Must require incredible amounts of water to maintain those orchards in the desert.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. This is the real deal

we are facing. July was the hottest on record. Arizona has had flash flood after flash flood. When it rains,it is more intense. Even desert plants are struggling to survive with more and more die off each year. Domestic vegetation is just not making it,even foliage that is suppose to be drought and sun tolerant are not surviving. Hopefully some of the root stock makes it.

This climate change thing is the real deal.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. We too have been dealing with flash floods

The farmers have had a tough time of it.

[hatrack]

4. Last paragraph, precisely: lots more concrete & asphalt in town

We may expect bad things all around, but wherever water flows off faster, it will be worse. And, with more people in cities (compared to the country) than ever before, it will get more attention.

Over the weekend, Broken Bow and Anselmo, NE got 5.5 inches of rain in a few hours, flash floods, golf ball-sized hail and a storm that cut a swath flattening all and any crops in a swatch six to ten miles wide from one end of Custer County to the other. That was Saturday night, then another huge storm blew through the following day - but who the hell ever heard of Anselmo or Broken Bow?

BROKEN BOW — Custer County is cleaning up after multiple storms Saturday and Sunday ripped through one end of the county to the other, stripped crops, toppled trees, flooded streets, caused power outages and damaged homes and cars.

The first storm produced the most damage, Custer County Emergency Manager Mark Rempe said. That storm started some time between 7-8 p.m. Saturday and ended about midnight. A smaller storm went through the area Sunday night, starting at about 6:30 p.m. to sometime before 9:30 p.m., according to Rempe.

The damage from the weekend storms was severe. Rempe said Saturday’s storm produced golf ball- to marble-size hail, high winds and heavy rain within a short time. "And the big one, the one that’s gonna hurt the most, total annihilation of crops from county line to county line. Anywhere from six miles wide to 10 miles wide," Rempe said.

Custer County Extension Educator Troy Walz said the strip of damage ran from Anselmo through Mason City and south. Rempe added that he received a confirmed report that 5 1/2 inches poured down Saturday night in the Anselmo area in a little over an hour. Officials had to pump water out of the streets in Anselmo on Saturday night and again on Sunday when the next storm came through.

EDIT

http://www.kearneyhub.com/news/local/weekend-storms-swamp-custer-county/article_371a9962-813e-11e7-8ff8-bfed63776503.html

[Wellstone ruled]

5. Here in the Vegas Valley,

a ironic thing is happening. In a attempt to curb water consumption,our Local Water District offers Home Owners up to 2 dollars per square foot of turf removed and replaced with rock and drought resistant foliage. Irony,we have created a Heat Island effect,and the ambient air temp has increase significantly during July and August. Example is,July 2017 was 1.4 degrees hotter than July of 2016. Oh,BTW,our Valley is at 60% zero scape as of May 1 st.

Irony once again,our Electricity consumption has increased thus instead of paying the Water District more money,we pay more to NV Energy,who by the way are fighting Solar tooth and nail,which by the way has been raising their rates at least once a year.