Texas. North Carolina. Illinois. New Mexico. Sudden floods rose to the spotlight last week with almost almost consecutive flooding events Throughout the country.
Slow thunderstorms in Texas fired more than rain in the entire summer on July 4, as she sent water that rises to the banks of the river and killed at least 120 people.
On the same weekend, Tropical storm It poured nearly a rains on parts of the central state of North Carolina, causing the Eno River to rise more than 25 feet and destroy a record in advance during Hurricane Fran in 1996. The floods killed at least six people.
On Tuesday, the occurrence of rains for one year to Chicago and the storms that caused unprecedented levels of floods in the village of Ridoso, New Mexico, which swept the houses and left three people dead.
All of these events were extreme and came in a quick sequence – here are the reason for their occurrence now and why the floods became more intense.
This air image shows damage to sudden floods along the Guadalobi River in CARE Province, Texas, Thursday, July 10, 2025.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Summer is the flood season
Flash floods are the most common in the summer months, when the intense heat in the day helps the fuel thunderstorms. Warm air can also retain more moisture, giving storms greater potential to produce rainfall rates higher than they were when temperatures are cooler.
In Texas, storms were fueled by record levels of air humidity that continued from the remains of the tropical storm Bari. In North Carolina, Cantal’s tropical humidity played a similar role, helping to push the intense rain that led to fatal floods.
Summer storms also tend to move more slowly. Partially, because the winds with the upper level in the air weaken during the summer when there is a less temperature difference between the equator and the columns of the earth and the flying river travelers turn to the north.
When storms or procrastination slowed, rain in the same area can accumulate for hours and faster falls than the land can absorb or the infrastructure can be drained, which paves the way for the flood.
This is what happened in Texas Hill Control, where a fixed thunderstorm was thrown by more than 7 inches of rain, and in Chicago, where the stil -storing system has decreased by 5 inches of rain in just 90 minutes, which quickly immerses low streets and some homes.
In urban areas, the sidewalk and asphalt can cause more problems, which prevents water from soaking and sending it to the ground to the storms that can quickly overflow or block the debris.
The history of forest fires also increases the risk of flashing flooding in the region, and Raydoso has seen since the destroyed South Go out fires last summer. When the vegetation burns, the landscape loses its natural ability to absorb and slow down rain water. Moreover, the intense heat of the fire can change the soil itself, creating a water layer directly below the surface.
The rain on this ground “burning scars” tends to escape quickly – especially in the sharp terrain – the increase in the risk of floods in the floods even if the rain in the storm is not severe. Ruidoso and nearby areas were under 12 separate emergencies for the floods at least since the 2024 forest fires.
Drought has a similar effect: when the soil dries for long periods, it can become compressed or even crust, which reduces its ability to absorb water. Severe drought conditions helped to amplify the floods in both Texas and New Mexico during the past week.
… and climate change is worse
Climate change from fossil fuel pollution is to amplify the conditions that make flash floods more likely and more severe.
For each degree Celsius (about 2 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming, the atmosphere can retain approximately 7 % of water vapor – giving storms more fuel for intense rain. As the total global temperature increased, the moisture -rich air, which was confined to the warm tropical regions, can reach further than the equator, making the intense tropical rains to more parts of the world.
At the same time, forest and dehydration fires have become more frequent and intense with the warmth of the world, which leads to more burning and weaknesses in the areas exposed to fires.
The frequency of heavy rains increased by 71 % in some parts of the United States as the world warms.
Drawing CNN Weather
Rainfall rates have grown in an hour heavier in about 90 % of large American cities since 1970, according to a recent study of the Non -profitable research group.
In Chicago, for example, the average density increased by 8 %, and amazing rainfall rates on Tuesday exceeded the records that were identified in the seventies of the last century for the most short rainfall in the city.
The country has not been designed in the country to deal with the type of rainfall that is now more common.
Surprising floods have always been a threat in summer, but the risks are developing. As the air temperature and rainfall continues to rise, more societies may face severe rains in the coming years.
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