Parts of the western United States, already severely affected by a historic drought, have been placed on an exceptional flood alert with nearly 6 inches of precipitation expected in some places, weather services said Friday.
A “significant period of rainfall” could affect the states of Arizona and New Mexico, causing exceptional flooding, especially in areas devastated by fires, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
In particular, heavy rains are expected “in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. [vendredi] and on Saturday,” said the same source.
The water does not have time to actually be absorbed
The western United States is experiencing its 23rd year of drought and these cycles are being exacerbated by human-induced climate change. The risk of heavy precipitation increases with increasing temperature. But sudden heavy rains don’t necessarily help.
“If the water comes down hard in a very short time, it flows,” meteorologist Chris Rasmussen of the NWS in Tucson, Arizona, told AFP. “She doesn’t have time to really be absorbed into the ground like we’d like to see her.”
At the beginning of the month, intense and very rare rains in the famous and desert Valley of Death, in California, had caused important floods.
Source: BFM TV
