I haven’t had time to write, however we’re on the eve of the opening of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, and it’s been past time to do a brief write up.
The Midwest has been inundated since late winter. A sudden thaw in March on top of a deep snowpack—and deeply frozen ground, started this disaster, that’s been rolling on ever since. I have a grave concern we may see the Great Flood of 1993 repeat.
In addition a very persistent ridge of high pressure has set up near the Southeast, which has had the effect of channeling constant rainfall over the southern Plains and Central US. About the worst thing that could happen now is a tropical system in the Gulf becoming entrained into that flow. Aging infrastructure such as dams (Spencer, NE) and levees (all over the Midwest) are failing. They cannot handle it---and it’s only going to get worse as the years pass because of climate change.
Luckily for now it appears unlikely for the next few days, but it’s unlikely the high pressure currently baking the Southeast is going to relent. It’s summer now.
Overall, this has been one the wettest periods in recorded US history, with only the Pacific Northwest and parts of Florida experiencing dryness (also related, much of Alberta is on fire at the moment. The smoke will make spectacular sunsets this evening in a lot of the upper Midwest, mid-Atlantic, and New England.)
As the planet warms, extremes in heavy rain and drought are becoming the new normal, says Sean Sublette, a meteorologist at Climate Matters. It’s not that every weather event is the result of global warming. But the probability of extreme disaster rises as humans increase the levels of carbon dioxide, now at their highest point in the planet’s atmosphere in 3 million years. Greenhouse gases trap heat and destabilize the climate system. Higher temperatures “supercharge” evaporation, leading to droughts and desertification. Water is dumped back on arid soil in torrential rains, creating flooding.
This article at Quartz says it far better than I can. The climate crisis is here.