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Once-a-century extreme precipitation could occur every 30 years in US

High-resolution projections of extreme precipitation in North America show the US north-west and south-east experiencing more severe and frequent floods by the turn of the century

By James Dinneen

22 April 2023

TOPSHOT - Aerial view of homes submerged under flood waters from the North Fork of the Kentucky River in Jackson, Kentucky, on July 28, 2022. - Flash flooding caused by torrential rains has killed at least eight people in eastern Kentucky and left some residents stranded on rooftops and in trees, the governor of the south-central US state said Thursday. (Photo by LEANDRO LOZADA / AFP) (Photo by LEANDRO LOZADA/AFP via Getty Images)

Several homes in Jackson, Kentucky, were submerged in a flash flood in July 2022

Leandro Lozada/AFP via Getty Images

The past year has seen torrential rains flood parts of the US, from flash flooding in Kentucky last summer to the downpour in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last week, in which a third of the city’s annual rain fell in just a few hours. Now, projections using the latest climate models show that this kind of extreme precipitation could grow more severe and frequent with climate change.

“When the atmosphere gets warmer, there’s more water vapour in …

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