Driving back from Northeast Ohio, where heavy rains had brought Sandy Lake, southeast of Kent, to a record level and closed local roadways, we passed through flooded terrain from central Ohio to eastern Missouri. Every creek and river was bank-full or had spilled across its floodplain and rain was still falling in most areas; across the water-logged fields, crops were unplanted or well behind schedule.
Of course, extensive flooding in the Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi Valleys has been in the news for months, including structural damage in towns and cities and disruption of agriculture and transportation in those massive watersheds. Meanwhile, hurricane season is underway and the first tropical system of the year brought torrential rains to the western Gulf Coast. Even if they dodge tropical storms and hurricanes, coastal cities are threatened by rising sea levels, a problem that will only worsen over the coming decades.
Mention global warming and most humans (assuming they accept the science) worry about drought and water shortages. Those problems will certainly be severe in some regions but warmer air can transport larger quantities of water from oceans and lakes, providing more fuel for thunderstorms, snowstorms, tropical storms and hurricanes. Combined with coastal flooding from rising seas, which is already displacing human settlements across the globe, excessive precipitation may be the primary threat unleashed by climate change.
Of course, extensive flooding in the Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi Valleys has been in the news for months, including structural damage in towns and cities and disruption of agriculture and transportation in those massive watersheds. Meanwhile, hurricane season is underway and the first tropical system of the year brought torrential rains to the western Gulf Coast. Even if they dodge tropical storms and hurricanes, coastal cities are threatened by rising sea levels, a problem that will only worsen over the coming decades.
Mention global warming and most humans (assuming they accept the science) worry about drought and water shortages. Those problems will certainly be severe in some regions but warmer air can transport larger quantities of water from oceans and lakes, providing more fuel for thunderstorms, snowstorms, tropical storms and hurricanes. Combined with coastal flooding from rising seas, which is already displacing human settlements across the globe, excessive precipitation may be the primary threat unleashed by climate change.
