Record flooding on Onion Creek, Austin, October 2013 Advanced Rainfall Science in a Warming Climate Hydrology is one of our advanced culture’s most important engineering design areas because so much of our lives depend on not being flooded out, or having our streets flood or roofs collapse from excess rainfall. Hydrology is the study of…
We have all seen it, at least in the news. Most of us have been impacted by it because it is all around us. Extreme weather events have increased in intensity. Our climate has changed and as the modelers said 30 years ago, extremes have increased. In the future, expect further increases to triple what…
Increasing extreme storms are a big deal. Our civil infrastructure design is based on our old climate. Meteorologist across the country have been evaluating the historic record to see exactly how much change has already taken place. Climate modeling is still advancing towards being able to robustly understand exactly how much the most extreme storms will increase in the…
An article from the Associated Press (AP) by Bajak and Borenstein on May 18 tells us that: “Extreme downpours have doubled in frequency over the past three decades.” This is a tall statement with serious implications. The alarming nature of this statement is the reason that the Climate Change Now Initiative exists (of which I…
A 500-year storm today is the same as a 500-year storm in the past. It rains 8 inches in 6 hours. In our old climate, every year there is a 0.2 percent chance of a 500-year storm occurring. For a betting person the odds are 1:500. Projections are that by mid century 100-year events will…
