The state of California is due for a massive 'megaflood', according to scientists.
This concerning report falls aligned with the monsoonal moisture that has consistently resulted in flash flood warnings in state counties such as San Diego.
Scientists conducted this UCLA study and found the the chances of "mega floods" from occurring in the state are indeed increasing over time. This, due to the rapid impact of climate change over the years, and it could very well displace millions of residents in California, and could also deliver a massive hit on economic damages for the state, perhaps worth up to a trillion dollars in damages.
According to the study's website, the following points are some of the more concerning findings in this study.
Key takeaways:
- Climate change has already made extreme precipitation in California twice as likely, part of a trend projected to continue through 2100.
- Extreme storm sequences are projected to generate 200% to 400% more runoff by the end of the century.
- Today’s study is the first part of ArkStorm 2.0, a scenario to prepare for catastrophic flooding in the western United States.
Daniel Swain, UCLA climate scientist and co-author of the paper, says that there's more intense rainfall found in this research, along much stronger winds that point to big storm sequences.
“In the future scenario, the storm sequence is bigger in almost every respect,” said Swain. “There’s more rain overall, more intense rainfall on an hourly basis and stronger wind.”
Swain also says that there are some areas that could potentially see up to 100 liquid-equivalent inches of water, and other localized spots could also see a 20-foot-plus of snow accumulations.
“There are localized spots that get over 100 liquid-equivalent inches of water in the month,” Swain added. “On 10,000-foot peaks, which are still somewhat below freezing even with warming, you get 20-foot-plus snow accumulations. But once you get down to South Lake Tahoe level and lower in elevation, it’s all rain. There would be much more runoff.”
Professors in local universities such as Dr. Pat Abbott are not shocked about results such as the one found in this UCLA study.
“Some of the things that come to us hold more water than several Mississippi rivers added together,” said SDSU Professor Emeritus of Geology Dr. Pat Abbott. Data show our Earth is warming, and warmer air dries out to make droughts. Warmer air dries out to lead to more mega fires, but it also means warm air can hold more moisture and that more moisture can lead to floods that are ‘once in a century, once in a five century’ type floods become more common,” Abbott added.
