Storm-related rainfall can also cause inland flooding and is responsible for more than half of the deaths associated with tropical storms. Storm surge can cause deaths, widespread infrastructure damage, and severe beach erosion. Riverine flooding depends on precipitation as well as many other factors, such as existing soil moisture conditions and snowmelt.Ĭoastal flooding is predominantly caused by storm surges that accompany hurricanes and other storms that push large seawater domes toward the shore. River flooding occurs when surface water drained from a watershed into a stream or a river exceeds channel capacity, overflows the banks, and inundates adjacent low lying areas. Urbanization creates large areas of impervious surfaces (such as roads, pavement, parking lots, and buildings) that increased immediate runoff, and heavy downpours can exceed the capacity of storm drains and cause urban flooding.įlash floods and urban flooding are directly linked to heavy precipitation and are expected to increase as a result of increases in heavy precipitation events. Urban flooding can be caused by short-duration very heavy precipitation. The heat and drought depleted water resources and contributed to more than $10 billion in direct losses to agriculture alone.Īll flood types are affected by climate-related factors, some more than others.įlash floods occur in small and steep watersheds and waterways and can be caused by short-duration intense precipitation, dam or levee failure, or collapse of debris and ice jams. Rates of water loss, due in part to evaporation, were double the long-term average. Both states set new records for the hottest summer since record keeping began in 1895. 6Īn example of recent drought occurred in 2011, when many locations in Texas and Oklahoma experienced more than 100 days over 100☏. 5 As soil dries out, a larger proportion of the incoming heat from the sun goes into heating the soil and adjacent air rather than evaporating its moisture, resulting in hotter summers under drier climatic conditions. Even in areas where precipitation does not decrease, these increases in surface evaporation and loss of water from plants lead to more rapid drying of soils if the effects of higher temperatures are not offset by other changes (such as reduced wind speed or increased humidity). Higher temperatures lead to increased rates of evaporation, including more loss of moisture through plant leaves. Texas Summer 2011: Record Heat and Drought Details/Download
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