A huge pool of fresh water in the Arctic Ocean is expanding and could lower the temperature of Europe by causing an ocean current to slow down, British scientists said Sunday. Using satellites to measure sea surface height from 1995 to 2010, scientists from University College London and Britain’s National Oceanography Center found that the [...]
Signal: increased run-off
Unprecedented flooding hitting Mississippi
Unprecedented flooding predicted on Ohio and Mississippi Rivers This week’s storm system, in combination with heavy rains earlier this month, have pushed the Ohio River and Mississippi River to near-record levels near their confluence. The Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois is expected to crest at 60.5 feet on May 1. This would exceed 100-year flood [...]
Major flooding hits 48 river gauges in U.S. Midwest
With rivers in the Midwestern United States already full from thawing winter snow cover, severe rainfall in late April added to the troubles for the region. The National Weather Service predicted in February that the region was primed for flooding, and so far it has lived up to the advanced billing. On the afternoon of [...]
Record Fargo floods for 3rd year in a row
In February 2011, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned citizens of the Midwestern United States to prepare for a difficult spring with major floods. Those predictions are being fulfilled in North Dakota N.D. and Minnesota Minn., as melting snow and spring rains have raised rivers to and above their banks. According to the U.S. [...]
4 feet of rain hits Thailand in one week
Normally the end of March brings dry weather to tropical Thailand. In 2011, however, a powerful storm settled over the Malay Peninsula, bringing up to 1,270 millimeters (50 inches) of rain in little over a week. The intense rain flooded 8 provinces, killing 13 and affecting 842,324 people as of April 1, said the government [...]
Record wet snowpack for 3rd year in a row sets stage for record flooding in the U.S. Midwest
A major spring snowstorm dumped heavy snow in excess of six inches over a wide swath of the Upper Midwest this week, adding to a snowpack that is already near or in excess of record levels over Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. This is bad news for residents in flood-prone areas of the Upper [...]
NOAA: Another Spring of Major Flooding Likely in North Central U.S.
A large swath of the country is at risk of moderate to major flooding this spring, from northeastern Montana through western Wisconsin following the Mississippi River south to St. Louis, National Weather Service flood experts are forecasting. Today the agency released an initial spring flood outlook for this high risk region and will release a [...]
Iowa now warmer, wetter, and flooding
Climate change already is affecting the daily lives of Iowans and will do so more profoundly in the future, according to a report commissioned by the Iowa Legislature. The effects of the changing climate can readily be seen on the farm, the report says, including: >> The growing season is longer, so farmers are planting [...]
World’s rivers rising rapidly
The volume of fresh water pouring from the world’s rivers has risen rapidly since 1994, in what researchers say is further evidence of global warming.The study, led by a team at the University of California, Irvine, is the first to estimate global fresh-water flow into the world’s oceans using observations from new satellite technology rather [...]
