Houston and Quad Cities get swamped more often, thanks to warming climate

As much as a foot of rain has fallen in the Houston Metro area in the past few days, inundating neighborhoods and submerging hundreds of cars and trucks.

Neighbors are using their personal boats to rescue flooded
Friendswood residents, Aug. 27, 2017, in Friendswood, Texas. 

This morning, millions of students are at home as schools remain closed and KTRK-TV reports more than 70,000 homes and businesses without power.

This week's rains is reminiscent of what happened in Hurricane Harvey in 2017. 

This will not have the incredible toll that did, but many commuters are urged to stay off the roads.

Read the story from WUAD8 by Eric Sorenson - “Houston and Quad Cities get swamped more often, thanks to warming climate.”

More than a month's worth of rain as Wangaratta 'cops it’

More than a month's worth of rain has fallen in an hour just outside Wangaratta in the state's northeast on Saturday.

Wangaratta copped a month of rain in a day on Saturday. 

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of the state's northern country and northeast, with flash flood warnings in place for Euroa and Wangaratta. 

Senior forecaster Richard Carlyon said heavy rainfall hit Wangaratta Airport, about eight kilometres outside the city centre, from about 8pm.

"Wangaratta's copped the most rain," he said.

Read the story from the Melbourne Age - “More than a month's worth of rain as Wangaratta 'cops it’.”

(Sudden downpours such as that experienced at Wangaratta bringing rain at either near record or never before seen levels will become more common as climate change tightens its grip. Long dry periods followed by sudden and heavy downpours erode the dry earth, runs off dry ground quickly before soaking into the thirsty earth and so adds little to wetting of the soil - Robert McLean)