Summer Thunderstorms Will Be Epic Deluges In Warmer World

Satellite view of an intense mesoscale convective complex
over Kansas in 2014. A new study says these clusters
of thunderstorms will grow more frequent and intense
as global warming ramps up. 

Another study indicates that torrential drenchings and flash floods will be more likely in the United States in a warmer world.

Several studies have linked climate change with heavier rain storms. The latest takes a look at summer thunderstorms and something called mesoscale convective systems or MCS's.

These MCS's are very common in the summer especially in the middle of the United States. They are large clusters of often torrential thunderstorms that usually erupt at night.  On average, about 60 of these things form every summer.

MCS's often bring welcome rains to the corn belt and other agricultural regions of the United States, but also sometimes cause destructive flash floods. This is especially true if a particular area is hit by several MCS's on successive nights.

In a warmer world, these MCS's would get more intense, increasing the risk of flash floods, according to the latest study, which was published Monday in Nature Climate Change.

Bob Henson, writing in Weather Underground says the study "found that increased atmospheric moisture in a warming climate will help lead to a 15 to 40 percent increase in peak MCS rainfall rates, along with a 20 to 70 percent jump in the rainfall area. Together, these lead to a 30 to 80 percent boost in the total hourly volume of rain deposited by a typical MCS."

These more vicious MCS's in the future will affect almost all of us in the United States and much of Canada and Mexico.  The study indicates the MCS's will become a bit less frequent in the central United States, (though more intense.) However, MCS's will become more frequent elsewhere, espeically in the Northeast U.S and Canada.

That increase in MCS's in the Northeast is worrisome. The Appalachian chain, including the Green Mountains here in Vermont are especially prone to flash floods as water from torrential rains tends to rush down the slopes of the mountains.

Plus, the Northeast is heavily urbanized, and storm drains aren't designed for especially heavy rains.

The bottom line: I just gave you another reason to worry about climate change.